Bulgaria Welcomes Remains of Medieval Tsar Samuil After 60-Year Effort
Jerusalem, 4 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) Bulgaria today welcomed the remains of Tsar Samuil (997–1014), which arrived from Greece on a Spartan military transport aircraft.
The repatriation was based on an agreement between Bulgaria and Greece, under which Athens handed over to Sofia the mortal remains identified as belonging to Tsar Samuil, and Bulgaria provided Greece with 48 church relics. Samuil’s remains were discovered in 1969 in the Basilica of St. Achilles in the Small Prespa Lake by the Greek archaeologist Prof. Nikolaos Moutsopoulos.
The handover of the ruler’s coffin, along with two others to his relatives, took place at an official ceremony on Saturday at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki.
“The image of the majestic and tragic Tsar Samuil is one of the most profound historical examples for every Bulgarian,” said Prime Minister Rumen Radev at the ceremony. He stressed that it is a great honor for him to be again at the Museum of Byzantine Culture and to receive the mortal remains of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil on behalf of the Bulgarian state.
Tsar Samuil was a Bulgarian ruler from the late 10th and early 11th centuries and a representative of the Komitopulid dynasty. He was king from 997 to 1014, and his reign was associated with the long struggle to preserve Bulgarian statehood against the Byzantine Empire. After the Battle of Klyuch on July 29, 1014, in which the Byzantine Emperor Basil II captured about 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers and ordered them to be blinded, Samuil died on October 6 of the same year.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Athens was fulfilling its historical duty by returning the royal remains.
Bulgarian Minister of Culture Evtim Miloshev and his Greek counterpart Lina Mendoni signed the handover protocols in the presence of Prime Ministers Rumen Radev and Kyriakos Mitsotakis. After the ceremony, the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Greece held a one-on-one meeting.
After the Spartan plane carrying the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil entered Bulgarian airspace , it was escorted by two pairs of MiG-29 and F-16 fighter jets. They flew over Knyaz Alexander I Square in Sofia, and after landing at Vasil Levski Airport, the remains were greeted with a guard of honor and a red carpet.
The Bulgarian Army transported the remains to Sofia for a state ceremony.
“Today, a symbol of statesmanship and military virtues will find its eternal home in St. Sophia,” Radev said. “It is no coincidence that the 60-year efforts to return Tsar Samuil are bearing fruit today, when disbelief, barrenness and division are once again seeping into our society. Because today, after 1,000 years, not just the mortal remains of one of the greatest rulers are returning to the homeland, today we welcome his spirit, intransigence, his boundless faith in the fatherland and his covenant to protect Bulgaria.
Radev thanked all Bulgarians, diplomats, scientists and politicians for 60 years of efforts to return the remains of Tsar Samuil. “And these efforts show that when we stand together behind a significant national goal, we can succeed, regardless of the obstacles,” the Prime Minister said.
The ceremony continued with a procession from Prince Alexander I Square to the Basilica of Saint Sophia. Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil led the mourning service in conjunction with metropolitans.
“Today, more than a millennium after his life and historical feat, Tsar Samuil returns among his own, to remain forever in Bulgaria and rest in this holy house of God,” the patriarch said.
The royal sarcophagus, made of marble from the ancient Bulgarian lands of Samuil’s kingdom, is placed in the southern part of the transept of the basilica St. Sophia – the Wisdom of God.
