Former President Will Be Buried at Ghencea Military Cemetery; Thursday,National Day of Mourning

 Former President Ion Iliescu will be buried on Thursday, with military honors, at the Ghencea III Military Cemetery.On Thursday morning, in the Union Hall at Cotroceni Palace, where the coffin with the lifeless body of the former head of state was deposited since Wednesday, a short religious moment and the Guard ceremony at the catafalque will take place.Afterwards, the funeral service will be held at the Church in the "Cotroceni Palace" Complex.After the religious ceremony, the Guard of Honor, made up of soldiers from the 30th Guards Brigade "Mihai Viteazul", will present the last honor on the Marinescu Plateau. The National Anthem will be sung, and the procession will pass in front of the Guard.The procession with the coffin of the former president of Romania will then move to the Ghencea III Military Cemetery, along the route of Gheorghe Marinescu Boulevard - Eroii Sanitari Boulevard - Eroilor Boulevard - Bagdasar Street - Panduri Road - Geniului Boulevard - Razoare Street - Sarii Road - Ghencea Boulevard - Ghencea Extension - Cooperative Road - Ghencea III Cemetery.At the entrance to the cemetery, the coffin will be placed on a cannon stand and the honor guard will be presented.The funeral will take place only in the presence of family and close friends.Thursday was declared a day of national mourning, and Romanian flags were flown at half-mast. More than a thousand people on Wednesday passed for five hours before the catafalque of Ion Iliescu, laying in state in the Union Hall of the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.Those who chose to mourn near the catafalque between, mainly elderly but also mature and young, crossed themselves and bowed. Some wept, knelt, and even cried.In the morning, between 09:30hrs and 12:30hrs, high ranking officials presented their condolences.Soldiers of the 30th Mihai Viteazu Guards Regiment permanently guarded the catafalque.Among those who visited the Union Hall on Wednesday were MP George Becali, former Minister of Education Ecaterina Andronescu, former Minister of Labour Simona Bucura-Oprescu, former Bucharest Sector 5 Mayor Marian Vanghelie, former director of the National Archives of Romania Ioan Dragan, journalist Elena Vijulie-Tanase,In rare moments, the line at the entrance from Geniului Boulevard exceeded twenty persons.Starting at 18:30hrs, collaborators and close friends of the late president will present condolences, and at 19:00hrs a prayer service is scheduled. The service will be celebrated by the assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, Timotei Prahoveanul. At 20:00hrs the procession ends, and during the night only the guard of honour will remain at the catafalque.Children under the age of 14 are not allowed.Flowers and candles are deposited only in the specially arranged space in front of Cotroceni Palace, on the sidewalk of Geniului Boulevard.   ***  Former President Klaus Iohannis expressed condolences on the death of Ion Iliescu, Romania's first freely elected leader after the fall of communism, stating that his terms at the helm of the state "had a significant impact on Romania"."Ion Iliescu, the first elected president of post-December Romania, passed away today. His terms in the office of head of the state had a significant impact on Romania. I convey my condolences to his wife and those close to him! May God forgive him and rest him in peace!," reads Klaus Iohannis's message.Former President Emil Constantinescu too paid tribute to Ion Iliescu, saying that "he has stepped beyond the boundaries of his contemporaries' judgment into the judgment of History.""Upon leaving this world, former Romanian President Ion Iliescu has stepped beyond the boundaries of his contemporaries' judgment into the judgment of History. Condolences to his family and loved ones!," Constantinescu said in his message.(Photo:https://ro.wikipedia.org/)