The 53 relics returned to Greece from Bulgaria were presented - L. Mendoni: Absolutely positive agreementtranslated

An impressive wooden door inlaid with mother-of-pearl and bone, a silver cover of the icon of Saint John the Forerunner, two elaborate litany crosses and reliquaries, one of which bears the date March 25, 1821, are among the precious church relics that returned to Macedonia after 109 years in Bulgaria. These are 53 objects, recorded in 48 numerical entries, dating from the 16th to the 19th century and including, among other things, icons, church utensils, vestments, a bishop's throne, a gate and a lectern.

The relics were presented today by the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, where they are temporarily displayed, before being returned to the monasteries and ecclesiastical authorities from which they came. Their return is the first result of the agreement signed by Greece with Bulgaria on the mutual "deposit" of relics of historical value for the two countries on September 29, while the next phase foresees the investigation of the origin and the claim of other cultural goods removed from Greek monasteries.

At the launch event…