English
Bulgarian historian Goran Blagoev revealed that Greece had exchanged the bones of Tsar Samuil for relics belonging to the Ohrid Archbishopric. Specifically, the item in question—a reliquary containing the remains of a female saint—was taken to Bulgaria from Ohrid; it had originally been housed in the Church of St. Mother of God in Ohrid before being transported to Sofia by the Bulgarian army during World War I.
This could turn into a major scandal—the fact that we gave Greece a relic belonging to the Ohrid Archbishopric, from Ohrid, a place sacred to us. The Historical Museum and the government owe an explanation, Blagoev warns.
Among the 53 ecclesiastical items Bulgaria handed over to Greece as part of the agreement regarding the remains attributed to Tsar Samuil is a silver reliquary containing the remains of Saint Matrona—an object originating from Ohrid that has no connection to Greece. In 1916, this relic from Ohrid had been placed in Sofia for “temporary safekeeping.” Bulgaria initially said that it gave Greece artifacts it took from monasteries in the region of Seres and Drama, which now belong to Greece.