Timothy and Titus

Timothy and Titus, three books of the New Testament written in the form of letters, two of which were addressed to Timothy and the other to Titus. Both Timothy and Titus were disciples and helpers of St. Paul. The three letters are commonly known as the Pastoral Epistles because all are primarily concerned with ecclesiastical organization, the duty of the ministry (see 1 Timothy 3:1-13), standardization of doctrine (see 2 Timothy 1:13-14), and codes of Christian behavior (see 2 Timothy 2:8-15, 5; Titus 2:1-3:8).

Although church tradition has attributed the three Epistles to Paul, many modern scholars have questioned Paul’s authorship. According to these scholars, the style and vocabulary of the so-called Pastorals differ significantly from those of the genuine Pauline writings; also the historical situation reflected in the three Pastoral Epistles does not fit into any known situation of Paul’s life as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and in the genuine Pauline letters.

The Pastorals now are widely attributed to a single unknown author of the late 1st century, who pseudonymously ascribed them to Paul; possibly, he was a disciple of Paul and used some genuine Pauline material in his work. The order of composition is not known. Neither, indisputably, are the destinations known, although it appears that the two Epistles to Timothy were meant for churches in Asia Minor and that the Epistle to Titus was sent to Crete (Kríti). Unlike other Pauline letters, however, these are addressed not to the congregation, but to its leader.

The main purposes of the Pastoral Epistles were to provide instructions for the organization and administration of the Christian church and to combat heresies that threatened to destroy it through doctrinal and moral disorder (see 1 Timothy 4:1-6:2; Titus 1:5-16; 3:8-12). The need for administrative organization and doctrinal modification arose partly from changed expectations: Christians of the apostolic period believed that the Parousia, or second coming of Christ, was imminent. They were indifferent and hostile toward worldly concerns because they did not expect to endure much longer in the world. Late 1st-century Christians, however, had to realize that since the Parousia had not yet occurred, the way in which their church viewed its probably lengthy stay in this world would have to change. Also, the number of Christians had grown, and they had become identified by society and by the state as a separate, no longer Jewish, religious movement; thus public opposition and state persecution had grown. Many Christian doctrines were still being formulated, and no categories of orthodoxy or heresy had been determined. It was therefore necessary to identify and safeguard the true teachings of the church, particularly against the misinterpretations and speculations of the early Gnostics (see Gnosticism; Heresy).