A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Tuesday between the Ministers of Culture of Greece and Bulgaria, Lina Mendoni and Evtim Miloshev, for the mutual “deposit” of heirlooms of historical value to the two countries.
This is an agreement of historic significance, for which Mendoni has worked systematically, according to a relevant statement by the Ministry of Culture.
Returning to Greece are 48 heirlooms originating from the Holy Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa, the Holy Monastery of Timios Prodromos in Serres, and the Holy Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita, which had been transferred to Sofia in 1917, during the First World War, and were exhibited or kept in the National Museum of History of Bulgaria.
For its part, Greece will hand over to Bulgaria the remains discovered in the Basilica of Saint Achillios in 1965 by Professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos, which have been identified as belonging to Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria (997-1014), along with the rest of the anthropological material found in the total of four sarcophagi within the Basilica. These specific remains have been kept in recent years at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki.
The two sides agreed to continue negotiations for the identification and inclusion in a subsequent agreement of historical items of mutual interest, that were not covered by the present one.
The signing of the relevant protocols will take place at the Museum of Byzantine Culture on Saturday, October 3, 2026, in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Rumen Radev. The heirlooms will be exhibited at the Museum of Byzantine Culture until November 5, 2026.
Afterwards, they will be delivered to the Holy Monasteries of Timios Prodromos of Serres, Eikosifoinissa, and the Holy Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita, according to their origin.
