The church objects provided to Greece in connection with the return of the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil have not been written off by the National Museum of History. This was told to BTA by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petranka Nedelcheva, Head of the Department of “Exhibition and International Activities“ at the National Museum of History.
We are talking about 53 objects registered in the museum under 48 inventory numbers. The difference is due to the fact that more than one object can be registered under one number. As an example, Nedelcheva pointed to two ripides registered under one inventory number.
They were provided temporarily, without transfer of ownership
The objects date from the 18th-19th centuries and have artistic and religious value. Among them are crosses, almshouses, doors and ripides associated with the cathedral in Serres. They originate from the monasteries of “Holy Mother of God Ikosifinissa“ and “Holy John the Baptist“, as well as from the cathedral in Serres.
According to Assoc. Prof. Nedelcheva, the objects were given for “service“. This means that they were not donated and the ownership of them was not transferred, but were provided to be displayed in Greece. There is no specific date by which the specific objects must be returned, and it is unclear whether the deadline will be extended.
„Each of the objects that have been handed over for service in Greece bears an inscription of the donor to which monastery they belong and to which monastery they want to donate the object in question“, said Assoc. Prof. Petranka Nedelcheva.She emphasized that there are no crowns among the donated valuables. They have not been removed from the current exhibition of the National Museum of National History and are not part of the main treasures presented in the museum.
The objects were brought to Bulgaria in 1917.
Their history is connected with the events of 1917, when the Bulgarian government ordered the troops in the region to seize objects related to the Bulgarians, Bulgarian history and cultural heritage. They were brought to Bulgaria, but were kept secret for a long time.
There are no manuscripts among them. “Not a single leaf has been published“, said Nedelcheva, quoting the director of the National Museum of Antiquities, Assoc. Prof. Boni Petrunova. The donated objects have participated in exhibitions over the years, but none of them is part of the museum's current exhibition.
The dispute over the remains of Tsar Samuil
The remains of Tsar Samuil were discovered in 1969 in the basilica “St. Achilles“ in the Small Prespa Lake by the Greek archaeologist Prof. Nikolaos Moutsopoulos. Samuil was a Bulgarian ruler from the Komitopulis dynasty and reigned from 997 to 1014.
According to Assoc. Prof. Nedelcheva, there are different opinions in scientific circles about the identification of the remains. However, she described as historically significant the fact that the Greek side provided them to Bulgaria as the remains of the Bulgarian king.
„Our southern neighbor returned our king to us, which puts an end to speculations about who Samuil is“, added Assoc. Prof. Nedelcheva.She described as speculations the claims that Bulgaria provided Greece with its most valuable national treasures. According to her, the National Museum of the Bulgarian National Museum preserves 22 treasures with an established archaeological context from Bulgarian lands, including the Panagyurishte and Borovo treasures.
Sources: BTA