Source: Basilica News Agency
November 3, 2015
Claudiu Petre, the hero of the Colectiv Club fire, was buried Tuesday, November 3, 2015. The funeral service was celebrated at Saint Dumitru church in Bucharest by His Grace Timotei Prahoveanul, Vicar Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest.
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, was also present at the funeral service where he spoke at the end about the young man's sacrifice:
Claudiu Petre showed great self-sacrifice, and was a noble soul full of love for his fellow human beings. He was honored by the president of Romania as well, who declared him a hero post-mortem. Jesus Christ, our Savior, says that there is no greater love than for a man to give his life for his fellow man. This is supreme love, or sacrificial love. Nobody has greater love than devoting himself or herself completely to save or help others. In this case we see that the young man George Claudiu had this sacrificial love to the end, trying to save others and giving his own life. This is why this funeral service is celebrated with much honor for his sacrifice.
Claudiu Petre was buried at Tudor Vladimirescu cemetery in Bucharest. He was post-mortem awarded the National Order for Merit—Knight degree, on behalf of Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania. The same distinction was awarded to Adrian Rugină “as a sign of appreciation for the courage, altruism and devotion that both of them demonstrated during the tragic event, when they saved several lives with the price of their own lives”, as reads a communiqué of the presidential administration.