Greece and Bulgaria have struck a deal to return 48 religious relics that Bulgarian forces removed from northern Greece ...

Greece and Bulgaria have struck a deal to return 48 religious relics that Bulgarian forces removed from northern Greece during World War One, more than a century ago. The agreement was signed today by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and her Bulgarian counterpart Evtim Miloshev, through a Memorandum of Understanding covering the mutual exchange of historically significant objects. The 48 items originally belonged to three Greek Orthodox institutions: the Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa, the Monastery of Timios Prodromos in Serres, and the Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita. They were taken to Sofia in 1917 and have been held at Bulgaria's National History Museum ever since, either on display or in storage. In exchange, Greece will hand over the remains identified as belonging to Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who ruled from 997 to 1014. The remains were discovered in 1965 inside the Basilica of Saint Achilleios by professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos and have been kept at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki. Greece will also transfer the remaining anthropological material found in the four sarcophagi at the basilica. The formal signing ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. The 48 returned relics will be displayed at the museum through November 5, 2026, before being handed back to the monasteries and the Metropolis of Serres they originally came from. Both governments also agreed to continue negotiations over additional historically significant objects of mutual interest that were not included in this agreement. #Greece #Bulgaria #History