# From the Sayings of St. Athanasius the Apostolic on the Mystery of the Eucharist

> For they (the Jews), being filled with the flesh of a dumb lamb, accomplished the feast, and having anointed their door-posts with the blood, implored aid against the…

*2026-10-13T10:24:45Z*

![“For they (the Jews), being filled with the flesh of a dumb lamb, accomplished the feast, and having anointed their door-posts with the blood, implored aid against the destroyer. But now we, eating of the Word of the Father, and having the lintels of our hearts sealed with the blood of the New Testament, acknowledge the grace given us from the Saviour” — St. Athanasius the Apostolic, Festal Letter, IV, 3 (AD 332)](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/evidence-49e5c0b2-c49d-4652-94c7-15319f462be5-en-square.png?w=1080&h=1080)

### St. Athanasius the Apostolic says in “Festal Letter IV, 3 (AD 332)”[^1]:

For they (the Jews), being filled with the flesh of a dumb lamb, accomplished the feast, and having anointed their door-posts with the blood, implored aid against the destroyer. But now we, eating of the Word of the Father, and having the lintels of our hearts sealed with the blood of the New Testament, acknowledge the grace given us from the Saviour

### Who is St. Athanasius the Apostolic?

Born c. 296–298 AD and reposed 373 AD. God was preparing this chosen vessel to stand, in the power of the Spirit and the truth, before Arius and the Arians, guarding the faith of the Catholic Church concerning the divinity of the Lord Christ. Athanasius was not swallowed up in administrative work, but gave himself above all to scientific, philosophical, literary and legal study, and devoted his attention to evangelical and theological studies on a patristic foundation

[^1]: The original post attributed this text to “St. Basil the Great” by mistake; the Festal Letters are by St. Athanasius the Apostolic, whom the same post goes on to introduce. The attribution is corrected here.

---

*Originally published on the Orthodox Heritage Initiative (مبادرة التراث الأرثوذكسي), 5 April 2018.*

---

Source: https://abba.fadymondy.com/en/blog/st-athanasius-on-the-eucharist