Pope Francis orders Parthenon marbles held by Vatican be returned to Greece - The Guardian

Pope Francis has decided to instrumentality to Greece 3 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon that person been successful the papal collections of the Vatican Museums for 2 centuries.

The Vatican said successful a little connection that the pope was giving them to Archbishop Ieronymos II, the caput of the Greek Orthodox Church and Greece’s spiritual leader, arsenic a “donation” and “a factual motion of his sincere tendency to travel successful the ecumenical way of truth”.

The bearded antheral caput volition beryllium ‘donated’ by the Vatican to the caput of the Greek Orthodox Church. Photograph: Athens Acropolis Museum Handout/EPA

The Parthenon, which is connected the Acropolis successful Athens, was completed successful the 5th period BC arsenic a temple to the goddess Athena, and its decorative friezes incorporate immoderate of the top examples of past Greek sculpture.

The Vatican’s 3 fragments see a caput of a horse, a caput of a lad and a bearded antheral head, which person been held by the Vatican since the 19th century. The caput of the lad had been loaned to Greece for a twelvemonth successful 2008.

The determination to “donate” the sculptures to the Greek Orthodox Church and not instrumentality them straight to the Greek authorities is wide seen arsenic a mode for the Vatican to avoiding mounting a precedent that could impact different treasures successful its museums, arsenic galore First Nations groups and colonised countries astir the satellite request that occidental museums instrumentality artifacts and artworks looted during colonisation.

The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports expressed gratitude for the pope’s “generous” determination arsenic good arsenic anticipation the determination would enactment unit connected the British Museum. The Acropolis Museum besides welcomed the decision. It is not yet wide what plans Ieronymos has for the tiny sculptures.

The Vatican’s decision, which is expected to inactive instrumentality immoderate clip to execute, is apt to adhd further unit connected the British Museum, which has refused to instrumentality its larger postulation of Parthenon sculptures, besides known arsenic the Elgin Marbles, which has been a centrepiece of the depository since 1816.

For decades, Greece has appealed to Britain to permanently instrumentality the 2,500-year-old sculptures, which British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple successful the aboriginal 19th period portion ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Greece’s then-ruler.

The British Museum has repeatedly ruled retired returning the marbles, which see astir fractional of the 160-metre frieze that adorned the Parthenon, and insists they were legally acquired.

Earlier this month it was revealed that depository trustees had held concealed talks with Greece’s premier curate astir returning the marbles. The Greek authorities said nary determination was imminent, portion the British Museum said though it wanted a “new Parthenon concern with Greece”, “we’re not going to dismantle our large postulation arsenic it tells a unsocial communicative of our communal humanity”.

The United Nations’ taste bureau Unesco has urged Greece and Britain to scope a settlement.

Associated Press contributed to this report