Timothy BM (RM)(also known as Timotheus) |
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| Died 97; feast day was January 24; in the East it is January 22. Saint Timothy was born in Lystra, Lycaenia, the son of a Greek father and Eunice, a converted Jewish mother. Eunice, her mother Lois, and Timothy embraced Christianity during Paul's first visit (2 Timothy 1:5) to Lycaenia. When Saint Paul preached at Lystra seven years later, Timothy replaced Barnabas (Acts 16:1-4). The two became close friends, and Saint Paul would write of him affectionately as "the beloved son in faith." Since Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman, Saint Paul permitted him to be circumcised to satisfy the Jews (Acts 16:3). He accompanied Saint Paul on his second missionary trip. When the opposition of the Jews compelled Saint Paul to leave Beroea, Timothy remained behind to baptize, organize, and confirm the new converts in the faith (Acts 17:10-14). He was then sent to Thessalonica to investigate the status of the Christians there and to shore up their faith in the face of persecution. His report was the basis for Saint Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians (generally thought to be the earliest New Testament writing). |
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 Saint Timothy image courtesy of Saint Charles Borromeo Church |
In 58, Timothy and Erastus went to Corinth to reinforce Paul's teachings. Then they accompanied Saint Paul into Macedonia and Achaia. It is probable that Timothy was with Paul when he was imprisoned in Caesarea, and again in Rome, where he himself was imprisoned for a time, then freed. Tradition, recorded by Eusebius, has it that Timothy went to Ephesus, became its first bishop (some say consecrated by Paul), and was there stoned and clubbed to death after denouncing the pagan festival of Katagogia, a celebration that honored Dionysius (not Diana, as often stated). Saint Paul directed two letters to Timothy: one from Macedonia about 65, and one while Paul was incarcerated in Rome, awaiting his own death. They directed Timothy to correct innovators and teachers of false doctrine and to appoint bishops and deacons. Timothy manifested such virtue and dedication that he merited great praise from Paul, such as that in 1 Corinthians 16:10. Timothy's relics were allegedly translated to Constantinople in 356; cures at that shrine are mentioned by Saint Jerome and Saint John Chrysostom (Attwater, Benedictines, Butler, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, White). In art, Saint Timothy is a bishop with a club and stone. Sometimes he is shown receiving the epistle from Saint Paul (Roeder) or being stoned to death (White). |
| He is invoked against weakness of the stomach because of Paul's words addressed to him in 1 Timothy 5:23: "have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses" (Roeder). | |
 Titus B (RM) |
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| 1st century; feast days formerly January 4 (according to the Roman Martyrology) and February 6 (from the time of Pius IX until the revision of the Roman Calendar in 1970); the Greeks and Syrians keep his feast on August 25. Titus was a Gentile (Acts 18:7), probably born in Gortyna, Crete. He was converted by Saint Paul and became one of Paul's favorite disciples and his secretary. Saint Paul refers to him as "my true child after a common faith" (Titus 1:4). He acted as Saint Paul's secretary and travelled with him to the Council of Jerusalem, where Paul refused to allow him to be circumcised. Paul sent Titus to Corinth to settle dissension, and again later to collect alms for the poor Christians of Jerusalem. Saint Paul ordained him the first bishop of Crete. Paul's letter to Titus certainly leaves that impression. He met Paul in Epirus and later Paul sent a letter to him from Macedonia giving directions on spiritual matters and the proper performance of a good bishop. After travelling to Dalmatia he returned to Crete, where he probably died an old man. The untrustworthy Acts of Titus, supposedly written by Zenas the lawyer (Titus 3:13), say that Titus was a royal descendent born on Crete, and he went to Judea at age 20 after receiving a divine command; other equally unreliable sources say he was born at Iconium or Corinth. Titus was presumably buried at Gortnya (Crete). His head was brought to Venice after the invasion of the Saracens in 823, and it is venerated in Saint Mark's (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Butler, Coulson, Delaney, Farmer, White). Titus is portrayed in art bareheaded, in a chasuble with a pastoral staff; or with a bright, smiling face (White). According to Roeder, he is pictured as a bishop with a palm, lion of Saint Mark, and the words Provincia Candiae above him; often there is a radiance beaming from his face (Roeder). Saint Titus is invoked against free-thinkers (Roeder). |
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