The righteous

From today's readings for Vespers:

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
(Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-6)

But the righteous live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord; the Most High takes care of them. Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover them, and with his arm he will shield them.
(Wisdom of Solomon 5:15, 16)


Everything is transient, everything passes by, everything fades away. There is only One Who Abides, Αλη'θεια. Truth- Αλη'θεια is Unforgetfulness, that which is not licked off by the streams of Time; it is Solid Ground not eaten away by corrosive Death; it is Essence most essential in which there is no Non-being at all. In Truth, in the Incorruptible One, the corruptible being of this world finds its protection. From Truth, the Strong One, the world’s being receives strength-chastity. God gives victory over Time, and this victory is 'remembrance' by God Who does not forget. He Himself is above Time and can make everything commune with Eternity. How? By remembering it.
St. Pavel (Florensky)