THEOSISTheodoret of Cyrus
The law instructs concerning the manner in which the bishop should approach the Holy of Holies. It states, "Let Aaron bring the bullock, which is his sin, and let him pray for himself and for his house; and let him slay the bullock, which is his sin. And let him take a censer full of fire-coal from the altar which is before the Lord, and let him fill his hand with pure incense, and let him bring it within the veil; and let him lay incense before the Lord, and let the smoke of incense cover the cleansing place which is in the sight, and he shall not die" (Lev. 16:11-13). This clearly indicates that the altar for the censer was situated outside the veil; had it been inside, it would have been a directive to carry coals into the censer and place incense within the veil. Blessed Luke corroborates this when he recounts the experience of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, who likewise entered the Holy of Holies at that moment and beheld the vision of an angel.