Today, Albania will return to North Macedonia 20 icons stolen from Macedonian churches, mainly from the Struga region, as part of the cooperation agreement between the two countries that was signed last year.
This information was confirmed for the Macedonian media by the team working on the project, and more details will be announced after the icons arrive in the country.
“For the first time in the history of our country, a successful restitution of cultural heritage has been achieved thanks to the good cooperation of the governments and ministries of culture of North Macedonia and Albania,” the Macedonian Ministry of Culture stated.
As explained by the Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska Stojčevska, the icons will be properly packed so that they are not damaged during transport and after the protection process, exhibited in the Museum of Macedonia, and then returned to the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
In North Macedonia, from 2009 to 2013, a wave of violent attacks on churches was recorded, especially in western and southwestern Macedonia, from which hundreds of icons were taken.
The Macedonian Ministry of Interior says that in the Struga area alone, 22 thefts of icons from churches were reported during that period.
The procedure of returning the stolen icons to the country from Albania began in 2013, and the activities have been intensified in the last two years.
Illegally taken icons from Macedonian churches were accidentally noticed by Macedonian experts in 2013 during a show with Prime Minister Edi Rama on Albanian television.
After the completion of this, it is planned to open a new process of returning another contingent of identified icons to Albania.
Photo: illustration
