St. Titus, Bishop and Confessor 2020

Today the Church commemorates St. Titus, one of St. Paul’s disciples and the first Bishop of the Greek island of Crete.  During Paul’s first missionary journey, young Titus was one of those who heard his preaching and was brought to faith by the Holy Spirit.  Paul eventually brought Titus to Jerusalem to show the other Apostles and Jewish believers that a Greek, someone from a heathen background, could believe in Jesus.  Titus accompanied Paul on several trips and became a trusted helper, so much so that Paul used him as a messenger of his Epistles to different churches, most notably the second Epistle to the Church in Corinth.  While in Corinth, Paul gave Titus the task of attempting to resolve some of the controversies there, something that would require exceptional skill and theological knowledge.  After his Roman imprisonment, Paul took Titus to Crete, a place where the message of the Gospel had spread because of Pentecost.  Luke records in Acts 2 that Jews from Crete were in Jerusalem for the feast, and we assume took Peter’s preaching home with them.  However, the Christians of Crete were incredibly divided and disorganized and were in need of spiritual leadership.  Paul had to leave, but ordained Titus as the first Bishop of Crete, the first Gentile to take on a significant leadership role in the Church.  Paul requested Titus’s help in Nicopolis, but this meant leaving Crete.  So, Paul wrote what is recorded for us as the Epistle to Titus, which lays out the very specific requirements of those who would hold the Pastoral Office.  This enabled Titus to appoint Pastors in Crete, so he could assist Paul.  After completing the work in Nicopolis, Titus went on to evangelize what today is Croatia before returning home to Crete.  By God’s grace Titus was able to live in peace and died in old age, not as a martyr as so many of his brother pastors had.  We give thanks to God today for His grace to Titus, the work he did in Crete and elsewhere, and especially for the Holy Spirit’s work through Titus’s preaching and teaching.

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