Bulgarian soldiers carry a coffin with the remains of Czar Samuel at a ceremony in Thessaloniki. (AFP Photo)
The remains of medieval ruler Czar Samuel arrived in Bulgaria on Oct. 3, after decades of negotiations with neighboring Greece.
Samuel, or Samuil in Bulgarian, was a warrior emperor who battled the Byzantine Empire to expand his kingdom but was ultimately defeated and died shortly afterward in 1014. He is considered a symbol of Bulgaria’s national identity.
The remains, discovered at a Greek border area 60 years ago, were flown to the Bulgarian capital aboard a military aircraft that was escorted by Bulgarian air force fighter jets from the country’s border with Greece.
The coffin with the remains arrived at a central square in Sofia, where it was welcomed by thousands of Bulgarians.
In a rare show of unity, politicians from all ends of the fragmented political spectrum also paid tribute to the medieval ruler, listening to the national anthem and a 21-gun salute.
“Today we Europeans are learning to read history with a desire to belong not only to our homeland, but also to the culture that unites us across the entire European continent,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at the ceremony.
A procession accompanied the remains of Czar Samuel to the nearby Church of Saint Sophia, a sixth-century basilica that gave its name to the Bulgarian capital. According to church officials, Samuel was baptized in this church.
“More than a millennium after his life and historic feat, Czar Samuel returns to his people to remain forever in Bulgaria,” said Patriarch Daniil, the head of Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church, in a prayer at the white marble sarcophagus where the remains were laid to rest.
