Priest after receiving order for his fallen soldier son: it is very hard

Archpriest Alexander Maksymiuk received the award posthumously conferred on his son. Photo: Rivne Eparchy

On June 8, 2026, a ceremony was held at the Rivne District State Administration to present a high state award to the family of a fallen serviceman. The order was received by the soldier’s father, Archpriest Alexander Maksymiuk, dean of the Ostroh Deanery. During the presentation, the priest admitted that no honors can make up for the bitterness of loss.

“It is very hard to receive such awards. I wish he were alive,” the clergyman shared. He stressed that his son will forever remain 20 years old, while war and death “took him to the Lord.”

“I am grateful to God for the trials I have gone through, and I know that the sacrifices laid on the altar of victory are not in vain,” the priest said, expressing his attitude toward the loss of a loved one. According to him, despite the unbearable pain of bereavement, a believer must remember the eternal meaning of the feat performed by defenders of the homeland.

The priest recalled that Church remembrance remains the most important support for those who have departed this life. “This is never forgotten, and I know that the main thing for the departed is remembrance and prayer,” he stated. The archpriest added that prayer in UOC churches and monasteries does not cease for a single day: believers commemorate not only their loved ones, but also all soldiers who have given their lives.

He also expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Rivne Diocese and his fellow clergy for their support at the most difficult moment. On that terrible evening, when news came of his son’s death, Metropolitan Pimen, the ruling bishop of the diocese, and the diocesan secretary, Archpriest Viktor Zemlianyi, came to him. Father Viktor and his wife were also present at the ceremony.

The priest’s son, Alexander Maksymiuk, voluntarily joined the ranks of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade before his 20th birthday. The soldier was killed in combat while pulling a wounded comrade from a vehicle that had come under enemy fire.

As previously reported by the UOJ, UOC priests served the funeral rites for those killed in a missile strike on Dnipro.

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