Public figures and representatives of the church condemned a mask displayed at the Vevcani carnival, in which a reveller dressed as Jesus and carried a cross made of beer boxes.

The carnival, that dates to the Pagan times, includes both masks of demons and spirits and politically themes masks.

We are deeply hurt by the indecency and the blasphemous mocking of the Divine Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Honorable Cross. We loudly call on the organizers of the Vevcani carnival and the participants to apologize for this sacrilege and to prevent its repeat in the future, the Bigorski Monastery said in a statement.

A decade similar masks were deemed offensive by the Islamic community and the carnival was pushed to apologize.

The event was muted this year, after the son of a prominent and controversial local figure, Krsto Mukoski, died in a car crash.