Post by Zhivko ApostolovskiAccording to bulgarian sources, the Macedonian Tsar Samuil was buried in the
patriarch church on the isle of St Achil, Lake Prespa (now under greek
juristiction). They have cited some greek professor by the name of Nicholas
Mutsopoulos (spelling?) who claims to have discovered the body prior to
1965, then transferred it to his home in Salonica, where he carried out
further examinations.
According to the report, Tsar Samui's body was buried wrapped in purple
cloth, which according to Mutsopoulos is the norm for royalty. It is known
that this is not the case with the Bulgarian Khans, but "coincides" with the
ancient Macedonian royalty, whose formal, ceremonial wear was purple, as
well. :-)
Food for thought for the bulgar and greek anti Macedonian propagandists. :-)
Zhivko
PS Ivan Vazov, one of the best known poets of the 19th C from Bulgaria, in
his poem "Before Belasitsa" refers to Tsar Samuil as the "Macedonian
Emperor" :-)
More Tsar Samuel:
St. John Vladimir of Serbia
Holy martyr John Vladimir, King of Serbia belonged to a pious royal
family, which owned principalities of Zahumlje and Provala. He ascended
the Serbian throne in the second half of the tenth century and ruled in
Zeta and other regions in Illiria and Dalmatia. Since his early
childhood, St. John Vladimir had been blessed with the spiritual gifts
of meekness, humility, prudent taciturnity, fear of God, chastity and
disregard of material comforts. He mastered military science and became
a distinguished military leader, yet remained an example of piety, knew
the Holy Scripture and was merciful to the poor. Thanks to these
virtues, he brought many Bogomils (the heretics) back to Orthodoxy. As a
sovereign, he was revered by all because of his wisdom and goodness. To
propagate Orthodox faith and to eradicate heresies, St. John Vladimir
sent catechists to educate people.
Many hospitals, guest houses and monasteries were opened during the
reign of St. John Vladimir. Living the life that pleased God so much,
King John Vladimir had to unceasingly struggle against external enemies
(Samuel, Tsar of Bulgaria and Basil II the Macedonian, Emperor of
Byzantium), as well as internal foes (the Bogomils).
One day, Tsar Samuel attacked Serbia with a large army. King John
Vladimir avoided battle and stationed his squad on Mount Oblik
(Kosogor), which was very high. His soldiers suffered there from
poisonous snakes. St. John Vladimir tearfully prayed to God for help,
and God accepted his prayer. For some time Tsar Samuel was unsuccessful
in attacking the besieged Serbs, but a local prince betrayed them. When
it became clear to the Serbs that they would lose anyway, St. John
Vladimir assembled his men and said, "It is better for me to lay down my
life for you and willingly accept death, than for you to die of hunger
and by the sword." Having said this, he bid farewell to everybody and
surrendered to Tsar Samuel, who cast him into prison in the town of
Presna. While in prison, St. John Vladimir prayed unceasingly, and an
angel of God was sent to him to strengthen his spirit and to foretell
his release and a martyr's death afterwards.
Tsar Samuel had a daughter by the name of Kosara (Theodora), who was
exceptionally merciful and had the habit of visiting prisons. She fell
in love with the young and handsome prisoner and persuaded her father,
who granted her every wish, into releasing him. Tsar Samuel let his
daughter marry John Vladimir and restored him to his throne.
Upon returning home, King John Vladimir suggested to Theodora that they
live in chastity so as to follow a commandment of Christ (Mat. 19:10-12;
1 Cor. 7:29). Theodora agreed, and so they lived in love for God and
ruled their people in fear of God. In the meantime, major changes took
place in the Bulgarian Kingdom. Tsar Samuel died, his son Gabriel was
killed, and the throne was taken over by Vladislav, who disliked John
Vladimir. The latter had a vision of an eagle carrying a cross. The bird
glided above the forest and then went down and laid the cross on the
ground. The blessed king rendered homage to the cross and later built a
church on that spot, where he prayed day and night awaiting his martyrdom.
Tsar Vladislav conceived a plan to annex the estates of John Vladimir.
With this in mind, he summoned John Vladimir with the alleged purpose of
negotiating an agreement. Theodora, being apprehensive, tried to keep
him from going, yet he did not listen and left for Presna. When Tsar
Vladislav saw the king approaching, he drew his sword and struck John
Vladimir, but did not injure him. The saint said to him, "You want to
kill me, brother, but you can't." He handed Vladislav his sword, saying,
"Take it and kill me. I am ready to die, as were Isaac and Abel."
Vladislav, his mind obscured, grabbed the sword and cut off the martyr's
head. Beheaded, John Vladimir took up his own head, mounted his horse
and rode up to a church, saying, "Lord, into Thy hands I commend my
spirit." The killer ran away in horror. In this way, Blessed John
Vladimir became a martyr on May 22, 1015.
One could see a miraculous light above his grave on the first night
after his burial. This frightened the Bulgarian Tsar so much that he
handed over the body of the saint to his wife Theodora to bury him in a
place of her choice. The widow placed the body of her husband in the
church of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in Kraina. Theodora then took the
veil and spent the rest of her days near the grave of her beloved
husband. Upon her repose, she was buried next to him.
Tsar Vladislav died during the assault on the Serbian town of Drac in
early 1018. A warrior resembling St. John Vladimir suddenly appeared in
front of him, and when the latter broke into run in horror, an angel of
God struck him down.
Around 1215 the holy relics of John Vladimir were transferred to the
town of Drac and later to St. John's Monastery in Albania. In this
cloister dedicated to the martyred king, numerous miracles occurred.
Serbs, Albanians and Greeks paid tribute to the memory of John Vladimir,
calling him wonderworker and myrrh-giver. A service to the crowned
martyr and his biography were written, first in Serbian and then in
Greek. The Serbian text was lost later on, and monks Luke and Parthenius
of Hilandarion Monastery translated the service and the biography from
Greek back into Serbian. Metropolitan Michael of Belgrade included them
into Serbliak in 1861. In 1925 a church in honor of the Holy Martyr John
Vladimir was built in the monastery of St. Nahum on Lake Ohrid.
Speaking on icons, the saint is often depicted crowned, with a cross in
the right hand and his own head in the left.
http://www.russia-hc.ru/eng/religion/legend/JohnVlad.cfm