St. Titus

Titus ( ; , ''Títos'') was an early Christian missionary and church leader, a companion and disciple of Paul the Apostle, mentioned in several of the Pauline epistles including the Epistle to Titus. He is believed to be a Gentile converted to Christianity by Paul and, according to tradition, he was consecrated as Bishop of the Island of Crete.Smith, William. ''Smith's Bible Dictionary'' 11th printing, November 1975. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revel Company. pp. 701–02.

Titus brought a fundraising letter from Paul to Corinth, to collect for the poor in Jerusalem. According to Jerome, Titus was the amanuensis of this epistle (2 Corinthians). Later, on Crete, Titus appointed presbyters (elders) in every city and remained there into his old age, dying in Gortyna.

Life

Titus was a Greek, who may have studied Greek philosophy and poetry in his early years. He seems to have been converted by Paul, whereupon he served as Paul's secretary and interpreter. In the year 48 or 49 CE, Titus accompanied Paul to the council held at Jerusalem, on the subject of the Mosaic rites.

In the fall of 55 or 56 CE, Paul, as he himself departed from Asia, sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth, with full commission to remedy the fallout precipitated by Timothy's delivery of 1 Corinthians and Paul's "Painful Visit", particularly a significant personal offense and challenge to Paul's authority by one unnamed individual. During this journey, Titus served as the courier for what is commonly known as the "Severe Letter", a Pauline missive that has been lost but is referred to in .

After success on this mission, Titus journeyed north and met Paul in Macedonia. There the apostle, overjoyed by Titus' success, wrote 2 Corinthians. Titus then returned to Corinth with a larger entourage, carrying 2 Corinthians with him. Paul joined Titus in Corinth later. From Corinth, Paul then sent Titus to organize the collections of alms for the Christians at Jerusalem. Titus was therefore a troubleshooter, peacemaker, ecclesiastical administrator, and missionary.

Early church tradition holds that Paul, after his release from his first imprisonment in Rome, stopped at the island of Crete to preach. Due to the needs of other churches, requiring his presence elsewhere, he ordained his disciple Titus as bishop of that island, and left him to finish the work he had started. John Chrysostom says that this is an indication of the esteem Paul held for Titus.

Paul summoned Titus from Crete to join him at Nicopolis in Epirus. Later, Titus traveled to Dalmatia. The New Testament does not record his death.

Identification with Timothy

It has been argued that the name "Titus" in 2 Corinthians and Galatians was an informal name used by Timothy, a view circumstantially supported by the fact that both are said to be long-term close companions of Paul, even though they never appear together in these books. The theory proposes that a number of passages ( 1 Corinthians 4:17, 16.10; 2 Corinthians 2:13, 7:6, 13–14, 12:18; and Acts 19.22) refer to the same journey of a single individual, variously called Titus and Timothy. In support of this position, some draw on the fourth-century commentaries of Gaius Marius Victorinus.

Of course conjecture based upon a fourth century commentary or church tradition does not carry the weight of Scripture. indicates that Titus, an uncircumcised Gentile believer, was with Paul in Antioch before the first apostolic mission, and that neither Paul nor Barnabas nor the apostles in Jerusalem compelled Titus to be circumcised when he went with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. (Galatians 2:1-10). Secondly, Paul met Timothy much later, on his 2nd apostolic mission (Acts 16:1-3). When Timothy joined the apostolic team in Lystra, he was circumcised in . Also, the name Titus is a Latin name, while Timothy is a Greek name. Quite possibly Titus was a Roman, while Timothy was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother (Acts 16:1). Finally and conclusively, in , Paul tells Timothy that Titus has departed to Dalmatia. Clearly they are different men.

Veneration

Titus was venerated as a saint earlier than 261 CE. The feast day of Titus was not included in the Tridentine calendar. When added in 1854, it was assigned to 6 February. In 1969, the Catholic Church assigned the feast to 26 January so as to celebrate the two disciples of Paul, Titus and Timothy, the day after the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America celebrates these two, together with Silas, on the same date while he is honored on the calendars of the Church of England and Episcopal Church (with Timothy) on 26 January.

The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates Titus on 25 August and on 4 January. His relics, now consisting of only his skull, are venerated in the Church of St. Titus, Heraklion, Crete, to which it was returned in 1966 after being removed to Venice during the period of Ottoman Crete (1667–1898).

Titus is the patron saint of the United States Army Chaplain Corps. The Corps has established the Order of Titus Award, described by the Department of Defense:

See also

* Epistle of Pseudo-Titus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Titus, Saint

1st-century births
107 deaths
1st-century bishops in the Roman Empire
1st-century Greek people
Seventy disciples
People in the Pauline epistles
Christian saints from the New Testament
Saints of Roman Crete
Anglican saints
Amanuenses
Private secretaries
Interpreters