We should consider canonizing Tsar Samuil.
This opinion was expressed to the Bulgarian National Radio by historian Prof. Plamen Pavlov and commented:
"He was a holy person for our ancestors. ... The return of his bones, I call them relics, was a kind of miracle and it was non-partisan, non-ideological and people of all beliefs participated. When the monument to Tsar Samuil was erected, we said that it should be next to the church "St. Sophia", where his relics will someday be laid, and here they are already there. This is an act of historical justice and memory".
Prof. Pavlov was categorical that there was no doubt that these were the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil:
"There is nothing unproven. Even Professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos, an extremely worthy scientist of world renown, in his book, published thanks to Luka Stanchev in 2007, has shown in great detail what this is about. Therefore, I call on the ministries of culture and education to begin more serious archaeological research in Prespa and elsewhere, because there is a great potential to rediscover or open to the general public our holy sites abroad, we have many relics abroad that we do not know about.
The issue of exchanging the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil for valuable church objects should not be politicized, the historian believes, commenting that it is not about values, but about memory, "which is the most valuable in this case".
According to him, due to the necessary level of confidentiality when there are diplomatic negotiations, the list of valuable objects that Bulgaria provided to Greece was not announced:
"These wonderful artifacts belong to the monasteries from where they were taken. They were saved, but it is right for them to return to where they came from. We must not allow any blasphemy against our expedition during the First World War, which included authorities such as Bogdan Filov, Yordan Ivanov and many others. An extremely good and acceptable option has been found and hysterizing the situation is extremely exaggerated, especially since it should not be politicized.
I have no concerns about the exchange between Bulgaria and Greece that followed the transfer of the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil, the historian said and emphasized:
"The work of our diplomats was done in the best possible way. ... The wording they gave is a provision for storage. This way, some Bulgarian control over the relevant artifacts that we handed over to Greece is not lost. They will soon be sent to the monasteries where they belong. Indeed, a Bulgarian population lives in these areas, not to mention that in the past it was dominant".
The reaction of the authorities and individual historians in North Macedonia is regrettable, comical and absurd, since in Skopje there was no doubt that St. Achilles has the bones of Tsar Samuil, believes Prof. Pavlov:
"I again appeal to start more systematic studies and why not to include colleagues from Skopje in them. In recent years, in Serbia and Romania, people have been talking without hesitation about the Bulgarian heritage. This is a normal European approach. Bulgaria is a democratic country and no one can order Bulgarian scientists what to accept and what not, unlike in Skopje, where, unfortunately, the picture is not like that".