Greece and Bulgaria on Saturday exchanged historic religious artifacts and anthropological remains under an agreement that returns 48 sacred objects to Greece more than a century after they were removed during World War I.

The handover ceremony was held at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki and attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. The agreement was signed by the two countries’ culture ministers, Lina Mendoni of Greece and Evtim Miloshev of Bulgaria.

The artifacts being returned to Greece were removed in 1917, during World War I, and were subsequently held or displayed at Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in Sofia. They come from the Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa, the Monastery of Timios Prodromos in Serres and the Metropolitan Diocese of Serres and Nigrita in northern Greece.

“Monuments cannot be treated as spoils of war,” Mitsotakis said during the ceremony.

He described the agreement as more than a cultural exchange, saying it laid the foundation for deeper cooperation between the two countries and expressing hope that it would lead to the return of additional cultural objects.

Mitsotakis said Greece was also fulfilling its side of the agreement by returning to Bulgaria the remains identified as those of Czar Samuel, who ruled the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 1014, along with anthropological material from four sarcophagi excavated at the Basilica of St Achillios on the island of Agios Achillios in Greece’s Prespa region.

The remains were excavated in 1965 by archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos and had been kept in recent years at the Museum of Byzantine Culture.

“These were kept and preserved for decades by the Greek state and from now on they are returning to the Bulgarian people, so that they can be honored in your country in the way you consider most appropriate,” Mitsotakis told Radev.

He said the agreement concluded negotiations that had begun nearly five decades ago, with the first discussions taking place in the 1970s between then-Greek prime minister Konstantinos Karamanlis and Bulgaria’s communist leader Todor Zhivkov.

“It took time, and above all, political will and determination to overcome the obstacles of the past,” Mitsotakis said.

He also referred to Greece’s long-running campaign for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum, saying that “the time for justice has come.”

Radev said the agreement demonstrated that Greece and Bulgaria had overcome past disputes and built a relationship based on mutual respect and friendship.

“I am full of hope that what we achieved today will further consolidate our strategic cooperation,” Radev said, describing the two countries as having developed a strong strategic partnership that contributes to stability, security and prosperity in the region.

The agreement completes a memorandum of understanding signed recently by the two countries’ culture ministers following years of negotiations led by Greece’s Culture Ministry.

The returned Greek artifacts are on display at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki through November 5. They will then be formally handed over to the monasteries and the diocese from which they were removed more than a century ago.

Source: Ekathimerini.com