The mortal remains of Tsar Samuil will be welcomed with an official ceremony and a solemn procession in Sofia, after Bulgaria has reached a historic agreement to return them to our country. This was announced by Prime Minister Rumen Radev before the start of the government meeting at the Council of Ministers.
"After intensive negotiations, Bulgaria and Greece have reached a historic agreement to return the mortal remains of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil to his homeland. At today's meeting of the Council of Ministers, we will approve the text of this agreement and authorize the Minister of Culture to sign it, together with his Greek counterpart. The agreement provides for the reciprocal transfer for safekeeping of historical artifacts, religious and cultural artifacts and relics," Radev announced.
According to him, the Bulgarian state's aspiration to return the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil dates back to 1965, when the world-famous Greek archaeologist Prof. Nikolaos Moutsopoulos discovered them during excavations in the basilica built by Tsar Samuil on the island of Saint Achillius.
"For six decades, the efforts of the Bulgarian state to return the mortal remains of one of its greatest rulers have not ceased. We have the historic honor of achieving it," commented the Prime Minister.
Radev noted that at a ceremony in Greece, the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil, as well as the remains discovered in two more sarcophagi, will be officially handed over, after which they will be transported to Sofia by a "Spartan" plane. Tsar Samuil's remains will be laid to rest in a special sarcophagus in the "St. Sophia" church, where the ruler was introduced to Christianity as a child.
"On October 3, Saturday, at 12:30 p.m., I invite all Bulgarians to Battenberg Square in front of the Princely Palace in Sofia to welcome the mortal remains together and bow before the memory of the great Bulgarian ruler Tsar Samuil, after which we will send him off in a procession to the "St. Sophia" church. on his last journey", the Prime Minister also said.
Radev also expressed his deepest gratitude to the Prime Minister of "friendly Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the statesmanlike vision, for the political courage and the will to achieve together this agreement, which binds our countries even more strongly. Because today the memory of Samuil unites, not divides, the two countries".
Source: dnes.dir.bg