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Greek Monastery Seeks Return of Stolen Religious Objects from Bulgaria

Anthee Carassava

   ATHENS - Leading clerics and monks in Greece are urging the state to
   take legal action against Bulgaria in a bid to win back hundreds of
   rare religious relics, including Byzantine manuscripts, that Greece
   alleges were stolen by Bulgarian guerrillas during World War I.

   The move comes after the U.S.-based Museum of the Bible, which holds
   some of the world's most revered collections of religious manuscripts,
   agreed last week to return a rare 10th century gospel book to the
   Monastery of Theotokos Eikosiphinisa in northern Greece.

   "This return marks a glorious achievement," said Bishop Pavlos of the
   northeastern Greek city of Drama, who oversees the monastery. "[But]
   more manuscripts and relics are out there, around the globe, and they
   need to be repatriated."

   "We plan to get tougher in our fight, potentially taking legal action
   against Bulgaria. But the bigger question is why isn't the Greek state
   -- the ultimate keeper of the country's national treasures and identity
   -- backing this repatriation campaign also."

   Greece says there has been no response from the Bulgarian government.

   Successive Greek governments have long lobbied for the return of the
   Parthenon Marbles, billing their repatriation a top national priority
   and insisting the British Museum hand them back after a British
   aristocrat, Lord Elgin, hacked them off the ancient temple, selling
   them to the British Museum over 200 years ago.

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