Titus (Bible)

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Titus (Bible)

Titus ( Greek Άγιος Τίτος Ágios Títos or ancient Greek Ἅγιος Τίτος Hágios Títos = holy Titus); (* 10 or 11 , place of birth probably Corinth ; † 105 in Crete ), who is referred to in the New Testament as a student of the Apostle Paul , was the first bishop of Crete and is considered the patron saint of the Cretan Church. He was later numbered among the seventy disciples of Jesus . The dates of his life are unknown, according to the old church legend he died around 105 AD at the age of 94 in Crete.

Life

Titus is mentioned several times in Paul's letters, which are generally recognized as genuine . From these letters it emerges that he was a Gentile Christian (“the Greek Titus did not have to be circumcised”, Galatians 2: 3  EU ), who successfully supported Paul, especially in delicate tasks. So Titus accompanied Paul to the apostolic council in Jerusalem ( Gal 2 : 1–10  EU ). Furthermore, he was probably involved in defusing the crisis in Corinth when there were disputes between Paul and part of the Corinthian community ( 2. Corinthians 2.13  EU ; 7.6 EU ; 12.18 EU ). Finally, Titus was commissioned by Paul to collect the collections of the congregations ( 2 Corinthians 8 : 6–23  EU ).

The historicity of the controversial information in the letter of Titus shows that Titus is said to have worked as a missionary in Crete later . According to the 2nd Timothy (4.10 EU ) Titus evangelized in Illyria . According to tradition, he was the first bishop of Gortyn in Crete.

Although Titus is recognized by Paul as a reliable collaborator, the Acts of the Apostles do not mention him . The missionary work to be carried out by Titus on Crete was perhaps not carried out until after Paul was released from his captivity in Rome, i.e. from around AD 62.

Cretan tradition

Agios Titos church in Heraklion

According to the Orthodox tradition, Titus was born in Crete and is considered a descendant of the mythical King Minos . He came from a wealthy family, a relative was the Roman governor of the island of Rustillo. He traveled to Jerusalem and witnessed the sufferings of Christ. Later as Bishop of Crete he founded the nine dioceses Knossos , Ierapitna , Kydonia , Hersonissos , Eleftherna , Lampi , Kisamos , Kantanos and Gortyna .

He had an episcopal church built in Gortys and was buried there after his death. The Agios Titos Church was built there in the 6th century, ruins of which have been preserved. In 961 AD Handakas (Heraklion) became the island capital. Therefore, a new main church was built there and the remains of Titus were transferred there ( Agios Titos ). The church was destroyed and rebuilt several times. During the fire in 1544 only the head of Titus could be saved from destruction. In 1669, after the Turks had conquered the city, the relic was brought to Venice and did not return until May 15, 1966.

Memorial days

See also

literature

  • Hermann von Lips: Timotheus and Titus: On the way for Paul. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-374-02621-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eusebius of Caesarea : Church history. 3rd book, chapters 4 and 5
  2. ↑ Georg Ott: Legend of the dear saints of God. Regensburg 1864
  3. ↑ Theoharis Detorakis: The Apostle Titus. In: Archdiocese of Crete, parish of St. Titus. Information sheet No. 6, February 2010
  4. ↑ Eberhard Fohrer, Kreta, 18th edition, Michael Müller Verlag, Erlangen 2009, p. 334.
  5. ↑ Theocharis Detorakis, The Apostle Titus in the Archdiocese of Crete, Congregation of Saint Titus, Information Sheet No. 6, February 2010.
  6. ↑ Niki Kritsotaki, The Apostle Titus Church in Heraklion in the Archdiocese of Crete, Parish of St. Titus, Information Sheet No. 6, February 2010
personal data
SURNAME Titus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Τίτος, Άγιος (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Gentile Christian, first bishop of Gortys in Crete
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century
DATE OF DEATH 105
Place of death Crete