The skouphos from the Bishop’s House collection used to belong to a nun. It was made of dark velvet and decorated with embroidery. At the base of the cap — the so-called “ochelie” — is a fragment of the Christian prayer called “Trisagion”:

 
Wide strips of fabric, which intersect at the top, reach the rim. The upper part is decorated with embroidery depicting a six-winged seraph, one of the highest angels, one of the closest to God in Christian tradition. On the front of the skouphos is a depiction of the Cross of Calvary with the instruments of the Passion — a spear and a cane with a sponge, by means of which Jesus was drunk with vinegar. Next to the cross you can see the letters “IC” and “XC”, short for “Jesus Christ”. There are also the silhouettes of the towers of Jerusalem, and at the foot of the schematically depicted Calvary, there is a skull, which symbolizes the ashes of the forefather Adam.

 
On the right and left sides of the skouphos are embroidered eight-pointed Orthodox crosses, and on the back of the head is a four-pointed cross. The cap has a light cotton lining.

 
Nuns traditionally wore the skouphos only on top of the “apostolnik” — a large cloth veil with an opening for the face. It evenly covered the shoulders, chest, and back, often reaching down to the waist. Traditionally these veils were made from black fabric, but some nuns wore white ones. It was allowed, for example, to those who worked in the church or monastery bakery making the holy bread. Later, the headdresses worn by the Sisters of Mercy were based on this design.