Saints Timothy and Titus

Timothy was from Lystra in Asia Minor, the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, Eunice; his mother and grandmother Lois taught him the Scriptures from childhood. Paul took the young man as his companion on his second missionary journey, sent him on important missions to Thessalonica and Corinth, and called him "my beloved son." According to tradition Timothy became the first bishop of Ephesus and was martyred there around 97.

Titus was a Greek convert whom Paul brought to the Council of Jerusalem as an example of a Gentile Christian who did not need to be circumcised. Paul sent him to Corinth to restore peace in that troubled church and later left him in Crete to organize the Church and appoint elders. Tradition says he died in Crete at an advanced age. Two of Paul's letters to Timothy and one to Titus are in the New Testament.

Their feast follows the Conversion of Saint Paul, so the Church honors the Apostle and his closest helpers together. Relics of Saint Titus are kept in the Church of Saint Titus in Heraklion, Crete, and those of Saint Timothy in the cathedral of Termoli, Italy. Paul's letters to them are often read at the ordination of priests and bishops.