When Kossara lies in her open coffin in St. Clement's Cathedral, Flandry:
sees her uniformed honor guard, candles, flowers, evening sunlight between columns, the Apostles with Christ Lord of All against blue and gold on the domed ceiling and Kossara's face, now colorless and serene;
smells lilies, roses, viyenatz and incense;
hears "...the somehow far-off sound of a priest chanting behind the iconostasis..." (p. 576);
feels cool air.
A perfect setting for either prayer or contemplation. Flandry in fact prays, addressing Kossara who will be canonized. The far-off rising and falling chant of archaic words symbolizes transcendence but is not the affirmation of survival that Flandry asks for.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, we see Flandry praying here as he said farewell to Kossara. Even tho it was simply a variant of the atheist's prayer. Still, I can't help but recall how, here and there thru out the stories, we see Flandry REMEMBERING God.
I thought the large icon of Christ enthroned in glory at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC an esp. fine modern treatment of the Pantocrator enthroned in glory and attended by the Twelve Apostles.
Ad astra! Sean
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