Tsar Samuel’s Remains Return to Bulgaria After Decades of Talks

Greece returned the remains of Tsar Samuel to Bulgaria in exchange for 48 ecclesiastical relics taken by Bulgarian troops at the end of World War I, in a ceremony in Thessaloniki attended by Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The exchange, which the two leaders said concluded more than 50 years of negotiations between Sofia and Athens, took place at the Museum of Byzantine Culture. The agreement was signed by the countries’ culture ministers, Evtim Miloshev and Lina Mendoni.

Efthymia Moutsopoulou, widow of the late Greek archaeologist Prof. Nikolaos Moutsopoulos, was also present. He discovered the remains of Samuel and members of his family in a family tomb inside a church on the island of Agios Achilleios in Lesser Prespa Lake in 1964. The church was built during Samuel’s reign, from 997 to 1014.

Bulgarian guardsmen carried the sarcophagus, draped in the national flag, to the Spartan military aircraft for its flight to Sofia. A solemn ceremony and burial at the medieval Saint Sophia Church in the center of the capital were planned. The government provided free rail travel for Bulgarians wishing to attend.

"We are going to bring our Tsar home," Radev told Bulgarian National Television (BNT) journalists shortly after arriving in Thessaloniki. BNT had exclusive rights to broadcast the event live, covering every stage of Samuel’s final journey.

Greece also returned the bones of 10 other people buried alongside Samuel. Eight were children, while the other two are believed to have belonged to Samuel’s son, Gavril Radomir, and his nephew, Ivan Vladislav. Genetic and anthropological examinations are to be conducted.

At the ceremony, Radev said, "It is a tremendous honor for me to be back at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki and, on behalf of the Bulgarian state, to receive the mortal remains of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil - remains that Professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos entrusted to your magnificent museum, and to whom we Bulgarians owe eternal remembrance."

He said Bulgaria had sought the return of the remains since Moutsopoulos found them in the basilica on the island of Saint Achillios in the 1960s, adding that the state had continued its efforts throughout the following six decades. Radev said the return fulfilled the archaeologist’s moral legacy and thanked the political leaders whose decisions had made the agreement possible.

"If Tsar Samuel once divided us, today he unites us. Today, he strengthens our strategic partnership and solidifies the bonds between our two peoples," Radev said. He added that shared EU membership enabled both countries to understand each other’s concerns and aspirations.

Radev also said the two countries were entering a new phase in their relations after a thousand years of conflict, and described their current levels of political, economic and cultural cooperation as exceptionally high.

"Today, we are forging a very deep bond with Bulgaria and not merely a cultural one. The return of significant ecclesiastical artifacts transforms difficult historical moments into new opportunities for dialogue," Mitsotakis said.

The Greek prime minister said the agreement had required time, determination and the will to overcome past challenges. He described the cooperation as being at an early stage and expressed hope that it would lead to further collaboration and the return to Bulgaria of other relics held in Greece. Mitsotakis also said cultural diplomacy worked quietly but productively.

The event, called "historic" by participants and commentators on BNT, took place during Bulgaria’s presidential election campaign. The second part of the program included an official ceremony and a procession to the Church of St. Sophia in Sofia.

Before the flight, two pairs of Bulgarian fighter jets, F-16s and MiG-29s, were scheduled to escort the Spartan aircraft carrying Samuel’s remains from the Greek border to the skies above Sofia.