What does he mean by saying, “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil” (Heb. 6:19)?

First : Under the priesthood of Aaron (the Levitical priesthood), sacrifices were not offered in the “Holy of Holies” or in the “Holy Place,” but outside on the “bronze altar.” The heavenly High Priest, on the other hand, offers Himself in the “Holy of Holies,” in heaven itself.

Second : The Apostle says: “Consider the apostle and High Priest of our confession” (Heb. 3:1). Through the incarnation, the Father sent His Son to us as a messenger to proclaim God’s love on the cross, to grant us the possibility of resurrection by His resurrection, and to bring us into His heavens by His sitting on the right hand of God. In this, Christ differs from the Levitical priests, the prophets, and the angels. He was not sent, in the sense that He left His place to go to another, but remained inseparable from His Father, filling heaven and earth. The goal of His mission was to proclaim our faith or our confession of the Truth. He offered Himself, being the unchangeable divine Truth whom we receive to see the mysteries of the Father as the Lord says, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on, you know Him … He who has seen Me, has seen the Father” (John 14:7, 9)

His mission is therefore unique, and through it, He bears us in Him to bring us forth into the bosom of His Father that we may know Him; a knowledge of fellowship and union. We see in the Father, who is unseen and enjoy what the carnal senses can never comprehend.

St. Athanasius says, “And when did He become the ‘High Priest of our confession,’ but when, after offering Himself for us, He raised His Body from the dead, and, as now, Himself brings near and offers to the Father those who in faith approach Him, redeeming all, and for all propitiating God?”⁹⁶⁷

Third : By saying, “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,” he likens the Church and the believers to a ship that entered into the heavenly port, in the person of her Head, Jesus Christ, and is united with Him as a steadfast anchor which makes it impossible for the devil, the forces of darkness, the world currents, the storms of temptation, to draw it out of the port, something that the Levitical priests could not do. No matter how righteous Aaron and his priests were, they themselves were in need for someone to atone them and to draw them to heaven. For this reason, they offered sacrifices for themselves as well as on behalf of the

967 St. Athanasius, Four Discourses Against the Arians 2.7 (NPNF II/4:351).

people. As for Christ, He ascended on our behalf to heaven and drew our hearts to where He is seated.

Fourth : In the epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle makes it clear that Christ is performing His priesthood while seated on the throne. We have never heard in history of a priest who offers sacrifices while seated, but while standing upright in front of God who is seated on His throne.