Samuel’s Attributed Remains Arrive in Sofia Under Accord

The remains attributed to medieval ruler Czar Samuel arrived in Sofia on Saturday, October 3, after Greece and Bulgaria agreed to transfer them under a cultural accord that also commits Bulgaria to return 48 objects taken from Greek churches and monasteries during World War I. The remains were received at a public ceremony and laid in the Church of Saint Sofia, though their identification as Samuel’s is not definitive. Thousands attended the ceremony in the Bulgarian capital, where politicians paid tribute as the national anthem played and a 21-gun salute was fired. The coffin had been flown from Greece aboard a Bulgarian military aircraft escorted by fighter jets. A procession carried the remains to the sixth-century church, where church officials say Samuel was baptized. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended a handover ceremony in Thessaloniki before the transfer. Radev described the agreement as a way for future generations to pay tribute to their ancestors and said Samuel’s legacy could bring the two countries closer.