Greece and Bulgaria have signed protocols for the mutual handover of historic relics and human remains, returning 48 sacred objects taken to Sofia in 1917 and sending to Bulgaria the remains identified as those of medieval Tsar Samuel.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev attended the ceremony at the Museum of Byzantine Culture.
Culture ministers Lina Mendoni of Greece and Evtim Miloshev of Bulgaria signed the protocol.
“Monuments cannot be treated as spoils of war,” Mr. Mitsotakis said, calling the agreement “something much deeper than a simple cultural exchange.” He said he expects cooperation to continue toward the return of further relics.
The 48 objects come from the Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa, the Monastery of Timios Prodromos in Serres and the Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita.
Taken to Sofia during World War I, they were held at Bulgaria’s National Museum of History. They will be shown at the Museum of Byzantine Culture through Nov. 5, then returned to the institutions they came from.
Samuel ruled Bulgaria from 997 to 1014 and is regarded as a national hero for resisting the Byzantine Empire. Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos found his remains in 1965 at the Basilica of St. Achillios on an island in Lake Prespa. Remains from other sarcophagi at the site, attributed to Samuel’s son Gavril Radomir and relatives, are also being handed over.
They are to travel to Sofia by military plane for a public ceremony.
