Serres Relics Return to Monastery 109 Years After Bulgarian Theft
by Bill Giannopoulos · Greek City TimesSerres relics that Bulgarian occupation forces removed in 1917 returned to the Monastery of Timios Prodromos on Sunday, during a visit by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Speaking to Abbess Fevronia, Mitsotakis said the return of the Serres relics righted “a historical injustice”. Bulgarian occupiers stole the objects more than a century ago, he said.
The monastery received two silver liturgical fans, known as ripidia, with Byzantine cloisonné enamel. They were a gift from the late Metropolitan Gennadios of Serres, a former abbot of the monastery.
After a doxology, a service of thanksgiving, the fans took their place in a specially prepared space.
Read more: Greece Shifts From ‘Return’ to ‘Reunification’ of Parthenon Sculptures
“I do not feel that I come to your monastery as a benefactor, but as a humble pilgrim who simply did his duty,” Mitsotakis said.
Why the Serres relics matter
The prime minister pledged to keep working for the return of every object taken in troubled times.
“Our effort and our struggle for the return of all the relics stolen in troubled times will be a lasting priority for me,” he said.
He also called the return of the Serres relics “a very important first step”.
The Serres relics belong to a group of 53 church treasures that came back from Bulgaria after 109 years. In October, the collection went on display at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki.
Their return followed an agreement that Greece and Bulgaria signed on 29 September, as Greek City Times reported.
Bulgarian forces also took vestments, manuscripts and early printed books from monasteries in eastern Macedonia. Although the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly required their return, many items never came back.
A tour with officials
Abbess Fevronia and the nuns guided Mitsotakis through the complex. They briefed him on its long history and its work.
The nuns also showed him restoration works on parts of the complex that a fire damaged in 2010. That work took place over the past three years.
Mitsotakis then visited the katholikon, the main church, which dates from the 14th century. He toured the halls holding its treasures, as well as its library.
Metropolitan Theologos of Serres and Nigrita accompanied the prime minister. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Chatzivasileiou joined them.
Deputy Interior Minister Konstantinos Gkioulekas, who oversees Macedonia and Thrace, attended too. So did New Democracy MPs Foteini Arampatzi and Theofilos Leontaridis.
Earlier on Sunday, Mitsotakis and Mendoni attended the feast of the city’s patron saints, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. At the cathedral, the church also marked the official repatriation of the Serres relics.
Source: Kathimerini
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