Something rare and symbolically weighty happened at the Bigorski Monastery. The civil governor of Mount Athos, Alkiviadis Stefanis, at the all-night vigil for the monastery's feast day - the Nativity of St. John the Baptist - declared that Bigorski is the 21st Mount Athos monastery. For a monastery on Macedonian soil, that is recognition of the highest rank in the Orthodox world.

"When I'm on Mount Athos, people ask me which monastery is my favorite, and I answer that all twenty monasteries are my favorites. From now on I'll say twenty-one monasteries are my favorites, adding this holy cloister as well," said Stefanis. This is his first visit to the Bigorski Monastery, and his arrival is regarded as historic - the first time such a high representative from Mount Athos has set foot in this cloister.

Stefanis arrived together with the renowned Athonite elder Antipas, and the July 6 vigil was attended by a large number of monks and believers from Macedonia, as well as guests from Mount Athos, Greece, and Romania. The abbot of the Bigorski Monastery, Bishop Partenij, stressed that "this is the first time in the holy cloister, and in these lands of ours, that such a high figure has set foot."

The governor praised with particular attention the monastery's restoration "from the ashes," the carvings of the iconostasis, and the way the young monks are led. In a time when Macedonia rarely gets news that builds rather than tears down, this recognition for Bigorski is a reminder that even small communities can create something the entire Orthodox world regards with respect. The question is whether we'll know how to value it as much as a guest from Mount Athos does.