Priceless manuscript stolen in 1917 returned to rightful owners

Priceless manuscript stolen in 1917 returned to rightful owners



Stolen more than a hundred years ago, one of the oldest lists of the Gospel returned to its owners - in a Greek monastery. This was reported at the Museum of the Bible in Washington.

The manuscript dates from the late 10th and early 11th centuries. It was made in a Greek monastery in southern Italy. In the Middle Ages, the copy of the Gospel was transferred to the monastery of Kosinitsa in northern Greece. In 1917, during the First World War, the monastery was plundered by the Bulgarian army. More than four hundred manuscripts were stolen from there, as well as books and religious objects.

In 2011, a manuscript called Eikosiphoinissa 220 was sold at auction. After that, the buyer gave it to the lar Museum of the Bible.

In 2015, the Greek Orthodox Church turned to the American side with a request to return the manuscripts from Kosinitsa. In the Museum of the Bible, after checking, they found a precious document. In 2020, they declared their readiness to return the manuscript. On Thursday, the thousand-year-old relic was handed over to the Kosinitsa monastery at a solemn ceremony.



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