Bulgaria receives remains of Czar Samuel after more than 1,000 years

The remains of medieval ruler Czar Samuel have been returned to Bulgaria in a ceremony in Sofia after more than a millennium. The handover took place on Saturday and drew thousands of people to a public square in the capital. The event marked the end of years of negotiations with Greece over the repatriation of the remains.

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The coffin and remains were flown to Sofia on a military aircraft escorted by air force fighter jets. Bulgarian politicians from across the political spectrum attended the ceremony, which included the national anthem, a 21-gun salute and a flypast. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Europe should not reopen old wounds and should instead work for peace, according to remarks delivered at the event.

Samuel is regarded in Bulgaria as a symbol of national identity. He was a warrior emperor who fought the Byzantine Empire to expand his kingdom before being defeated and dying soon after in 1014. His supposed remains were discovered in a Greek border area in the 1960s, and their return had long been a sensitive issue in relations between Sofia and Athens.

The remains are to be laid in the Church of Saint Sofia, a sixth-century basilica that gives the capital its name. The repatriation is part of a broader accord between the Bulgarian and Greek culture ministries. Under that agreement, Greece is expected to receive 48 objects taken by Bulgarian troops from churches and monasteries in Greece during World War I.

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The arrangement shows how a historical and cultural dispute can be linked to wider efforts at diplomatic compromise. It also reflects the continuing importance of medieval history in modern national identity debates in the Balkans. The ceremony also carried symbolic weight beyond the immediate handover.

Crowds at the square treated the return as a national event, and the public response suggested the remains still hold strong emotional significance. The involvement of state institutions, the military and church officials underlined the formal nature of the occasion. It also placed the event within a broader pattern of heritage claims and restitution talks in the region.

What remains unclear is how the exchange will affect longer-term cultural relations between Bulgaria and Greece. The agreement appears to have resolved one dispute, but it may also shape future negotiations over other historical objects and remains. The next step will be the burial or placement of the remains at the Church of Saint Sofia.

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