(AP) - The leader of the Eastern Orthodox churches is suing Princeton University, seeking the return of four historic manuscripts allegedly stolen from a Greek monastery during World War I.

The lawsuit filed last week in federal court in New Jersey alleges the documents made their way into the hands of dealers, and that the university bought one in 1921 and a Princeton alumnus and trustee bought the other three in 1924 and donated them to the school in 1942.

The manuscripts date as far back as 955.

A Princeton University spokesman said Wednesday the school's research hasn't produced evidence the manuscripts were stolen.

The suit was filed on behalf of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, often described as the first among equals of the world's Eastern Orthodox Christian leaders.