Visit of N. Androulakis to Panagia Eikosifinissa for the memorandum of return of relics from Bulgariatranslated

The President of PASOK-Movement for Change, Nikos Androulakis, is touring Drama today. In the morning, the Metropolitan of Drama Mr. Dorotheos welcomed him to the Holy Monastery of Panagia Eikosifinissa in Pangaio and they discussed the memorandum of understanding between Greece and Bulgaria regarding the repatriation of a small part of church relics and manuscripts, which were stolen from monasteries in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in 1917. Specifically, according to the records, 800 sacred relics and 430 manuscripts have been removed from the Holy Monastery, and the Metropolitan of Drama expressed his concern that the delivery of the remains of Tsar Samuel to Bulgaria in exchange for only 48 relics, may limit Greece's future negotiating ability for the return of the remaining treasures as well.

Mr. Androulakis, for his part, noted that he shares the concern of the Metropolitan, identifying three specific reasons.

"The first reason is the scope of the negotiation: On the one hand, we have cultural goods of the highest historical and religious value that have been stolen from our country during the depredations of the Bulgarians in the First World War. And from…