On May 15, 2025, the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centrе оf Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences organized a public lecture of Professor Peter Schreiner, a visiting foreign scholar in Bulgarian studies. Professor Schreiner is a world-renowned expert in the field of Byzantine and European medieval studies, doctor honoris causa of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and of Veliko Tarnovo University St. St. Cyril and Methodius. For his exceptional merits in the study of medieval Bulgarian history and the past of Samuil's Bulgaria, on October 3, 2024, he was awarded an honorary badge by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Professor Schreiner is author of many books and over 1,000 studies, articles and reviews. With his numerous publications, he convincingly demonstrates the exceptional role of Medieval Bulgaria and the Bulgarians in the history and culture of the European Southeast. For many years, he has been the president of the International Association for Byzantine Studies and editor-in-chief of the prestigious journal Byzantinische Zeitschrift.

In his lecture titled “John Skylitzes and Bulgaria”, Professor Schreiner analyzed the significance of the Sofia manuscript of the chronicle of John Skylitzes, kept in the National Museum of History, for the exploration of the last years of the First Bulgarian State. He also discussed the upcoming publication of his research on the topic in German and in Bulgarian.

The public lecture of Professor Peter Schreiner with the special participation of Vasil Gyuzelev, member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and his long-time scientific partner, was organized jointly with the Faculty of History of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski under the National Scholarly Program “Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad”.