“The Basilica of St Achilles is not connected with the presence and works of Tsar Samuel” who was active in the wider Prespes area for at least fifteen years.
This version is supported by research archaeology’s latest data presented at the recent conference on “The Cultural Reserve and Wealth of monuments of Prespa” held in the village of Laimos in Prespes, as part of the cross-border programme Interreg – IPA CBC Greece – Republic of North Macedonia.
The narrative so far has it that the Basilica of Saint Achilles was built after 986 by Samuel Tsar of the Bulgarians to house the relic of Saint Achilles bishop of Larissa, which had been taken from Larissa by the Bulgarian troops after their defeat by the Byzantines in the battle of Sperchios (996 AD) and the capture of the city.
Moreover, some tombs and small larnakes found inside the church by the research excavation of Professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos are attributed to Saint Achilles and to important persons of the time, such as Tsar Samuel himself.
Speaking to the Athens and Macedonia News Agency/AMNA the archaeologist of the Florina Ephorate of Antiquities Andreas Tsokas, an expert on the Byzantine period, who with his colleague Dimitris Asimakopoulos presented their relevant research at the conference, maintains that “the above does not apply”.
“There is no archaeological evidence linking this particular monument to Tsar Samuel. There is not the slightest excavation data, a coin or ceramic that connects this particular church with the time when Samuel lived in the wider area”, he adds.
Mr. Tsokas pointed out that there is only a small question regarding some frescoes in the alcove of the sanctuary where the seats of the bishops belonging to the Archdiocese of Achrida are listed, but, as he said, “this is also a matter that needs more extensive study”.
In terms of its size, its location and what is mentioned in the original Byzantine sources, the Basilica of Saint Achilles is a great monument that has attracted the interest of historians and archaeologists since very early on.
Mr. Tsokas mentions that the Russians first showed an interest, when in 1860 they began to explore the surrounding region of Prespes, to be followed 100 years later, in 1961, by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos.
The archaeological findings and even more so the interpretations involving the church’s history were a point of controversy in a wider Balkan context, something that, as Mr. Tsokas mentions, does not concern archaeologists because “we only wish to see the excavation data of the church and the information these preserve”.
In this context and given the discussion that had arisen in the scientific community around the findings of Professor Moutsopoulos’s excavation, Andreas Tsokas and his colleague Dimitris Asimakopoulos minutely reexamined all the findings from the first excavation until the present day , as well as all relevant announcements.
According to the researchers, the following three facts change the narrative around Samuel and his connection with the Basilica of Saint Achilles: The tomb inside the sanctuary which is believed to belong to Saint Achilles, the size of the Basilica building and the absence of an upper story within the church.
Mr. Tsokas mentions that the size of the monument of Saint Achilles is huge; it is only a few meters smaller than that of the Basilica of St. Dimitrios in Thessaloniki. ” If the majestic Basilica of Saint Dimitrios is defined as the place of worship of a populous and-prosperous Byzantine Thessaloniki, what is the case of the Saint Achilles building? what type of congregation does such a grand place of worship serve? No settlement has been located on the island of Saint Achilles that could support the existence of such a monument”.
He mentions , however, specific excavation and archaeological data “that point to the existence of a large church, older than the Saint Achilles Basilica, belonging to the early Christian era, i.e. the 6th century”.
The church was to be plundered and destroyed by the Alemanni around 1045 and both sources and archaeological research show that afterwards ” a renovation of the church takes place which is not connected with Samuel but with an active bishop, Theophrastus of Achrida who organized Episcopal and Archiepiscopal Synods in Saint Achilles”.
Regarding the matter of the tomb of Saint Achilles located inside the sanctuary, Mr. Tsokas wonders about the expediency of its existence inside the space right of the diaconicon, “since Samuel takes it with him from Larissa to install it in a place where it will be associated with his reign and become a popular pilgrimage for his subjects. In the Eastern Orthodox doctrine there are no pilgrimage tombs inside the sanctuary, since access to the laity is forbidden”.
As to the issue of the upper story, Mr. Tsokas said that regarding the architectural form of the church “we have a Basilica without upper stories since there are no stairs “.
He also points out that grand monuments such as the Basilica of St. Achilles are costly works. They need money, time, craftsmen and people who will build them, while according to the historical sources Samuel did not stay in the region for more than 15 years and not continuously, since he was constantly off on war campaigns, while at some point he moved his headquarters to Achrida.
According to the research archaeologist ” During these 15 years, nothing connected with the Tsar has been found in ceramics or coins from the mints of the time ” while to the question of whether there are finds in other areas of the same period that are or are not connected with his presence , he stated that “coins associated with him have been found in Achrida, while in the area of Amyntaio after 985 AD there is excavation data and coins from mints of the time but they also are not connected with Samuel”.
In conclusion, Mr. Tsokas noted that the specific monument “preserves the activities of people 1,000 years ago and all of these things must be understood and not interpreted”, while he pointed out that we must “see the function and content of the monument from a new perspective ; as a cultural reserve given to the public ‘.
The work of Andreas Tsokas and Dimitris Asimakopoulos was presented for the first time before the archaeological community at the 34th annual Archaeological Meeting titled “The Archaeological Project in Macedonia and Thrace” held in Thessaloniki in 2022 and recently at the Conference at Laimos in Prespes.
For the Basilica of Saint Achillios, see related article here.