In Short: Disputed Religious Manuscripts

The Eastern Orthodox Church has sued the University in federal court, seeking the return of four centuries-old RELIGIOUS MANUSCRIPTS that it says were looted from a small Greek monastery during World War I.

The monastery contends that the manuscripts were stolen by Bulgarian guerillas. It says that one was purchased by Princeton in 1921 and the others were bequeathed to the University by Robert Garrett 1897, who the suit says had purchased them at a German auction house. Garrett, one of the University Library’s major donors, collected manuscripts from several continents.

University spokesman Michael Hotchkiss said Princeton had found no basis to conclude that the manuscripts “were looted during World War I or otherwise improperly removed” from the church. He encouraged anyone with new information to contact the University.