Panikhída for Abp. Miron of Hajnówka (Brigadier General)

April 15, 2010 (cerkiew.pl) - A few minutes after 8 o'clock p.m. in the Polish Army's Orthodox Ordinary chapel a first panikhida (mourning) near the late Archbishop Miron's coffin took place. Archbishop died in a crash of presidential plane last Saturday. Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and all Poland along with Warsaw's clergy conducted this service. Bishop Jerzy was also present.

The body of the deceased hierarch arrived today by plane with 29 other bodies identified by victim's relatives. Ecumenical prayer took place on the military airport Okęcie, in which took part Orthodox Ordinary's chaplains fr. Bendza, fr. Dudicz and fr. Andrejuk. Then the coffin with the Archbishop's body has been transported with other coffins in a funeral procession to the Torwar, and finally the Archbishop's coffin came to the Ordinary's chapel.

Several dozen people have gathered on the panikhida. With paschal singing they welcomed the deceased hierarch. "Christ is risen your eminence" - these were the words with which the head of Polish Orthodox Church welcomed the coffin. "You came back to us. It's a hard time not only to our Fatherland, but also to our Church. You orphaned the Ordinary" - he said. "Our God is the God of the living not the dead. Eminence is living, however we have to face the reality, in which he is absent. We will meet him at the Final Judgement. I hereby extend the most cordial condolences mainly to the Ordinary".

The Minister of Defence Bogdan Klich decided that fr. Michał Dudicz will be the temporary Orthodox Ordinary of Polish Army. Fr. Dudicz has been identifying the body of his superior in Moscow. Metropolitan Sawa has asked the Ordinary's clergy for special prayers for the Archbishop and all of the victims of the plane crash. On Sunday a solemn Divine Liturgy will be celebrated by bishop Jerzy. That day at 6 p.m. the body of the deceased hierarch will be transported to the metropolitan St. Mary Magdalene's cathedral. The funeral of Archbishop Miron is planned to be celebrated on Monday 9 o'clock a.m. After the funeralthe body of the hierarch will be transported to Supraśl according to his will. Then it will be buried in the crypt of rebuilding Annunciation church. Residents of Białystok region, from which the late Archbishop came, will have an occasion to pay last tribute to him.