Timothy (Τιμόθεος), Saint

TIMOTHY (Τιμόθεος), Saint. - Collaborator and beloved disciple of St. Paul, born at Lystra in Lycaonia to a pagan father and a Jewish (or proselyte) mother, converted by the Apostle perhaps during his first mission in Asia (45-49), then his inseparable companion from the second journey (49/50-53) until the end of the first Roman imprisonment (ca. 62-63). During his last journey in Asia (65-66) St. Paul appointed him to govern the important Church of Ephesus, then sent him two letters with directives for his office as pastor. At Ephesus T. presumably spent his last years, which ended with martyrdom, perhaps in 97 A.D.

I. LIFE

Religiously educated and initiated into the Holy Scriptures by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois (II Tim. 1:5; 3:5), T. was circumcised by Paul, but only to facilitate his work among the Jews, when he took him as a partner in the apostolate (Acts 16:1-3). His conversion to Christianity could have occurred on Paul's first passage through Lycaonia, when T. witnessed the labors and persecutions he endured (II Tim. 3:10 ff.). Taken on by Paul in place of Mark, he became his friend and beloved disciple; he was at his side in the founding of the principal Churches and received positions of trust from him: among other things he was sent to the Corinthians (v. vol. IV, col. 553 ff.) to calm the tumult of the factions there (I Cor. 4:17; 16:10 ff.), but his timid character and sickly appearance (ibid. 16:10; I Tim. 4:12; 5:23) could not have favored his success, which was then reaped by Titus. He perhaps followed Paul as a prisoner to Caesarea and to Rome: the epistles of this period are written also in his name. It is not known whether he went with Paul to Spain; Heb. 13:23 perhaps alludes to an imprisonment or trial of his; he was, however, again with Paul on his last journey to the East (I Tim. 1:3). It is difficult to determine T.'s age when he was elected bishop of Ephesus; if Paul, an "old man" of about 65 years, calls him "young" (ibid. 4:12), he could have been 35-40 years old. After Paul's martyrdom, from Rome, where he had been summoned by him (II Tim. 1:4; 4:8, 21), he returned to Ephesus, remaining there perhaps even after the coming of St. John; if he died there a martyr under the emperor Nerva and the proconsul Peregrinus (97 A.D.), perhaps the expressions of Apoc. 2:1-7 concern him indirectly. His body, transferred to Constantinople in 356, then stolen in the 13th century, has recently been found beneath the apse of the cathedral of Termoli (v.). The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on Jan. 24, just before commemorating the conversion of his master.
II. - LETTERE DI S. PAOLO A T. - Very similar to each other in content and style, I and II Tim. together with Tit. present themselves as written in the same circumstances and for the same purposes by the same author, St. Paul, thus forming the group of the three "pastoral" letters (v.).

1. Authenticity

The literary authenticity, affirmed from the beginning, except by certain heretics of the 2nd century, by Christian tradition, unanimous until the 19th century, is denied today by the great majority of Protestants, wholly or in part, only for literary reasons. Catholics, however, and also some Protestants, have demonstrated the insufficiency of the arguments adduced in the face of the favorable historical testimonies, confirmed by important internal arguments, for which the intervention of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (12 June 1913: Denz-U, 2172-75) is justified. Marcion, Tatian, Basilides rejected the pastorals because they were contrary to their heresies (Tatian, however, accepted Tit.). The first critical doubts, raised by J. E. C. Schmidt (1804) regarding I Tim., were soon extended to the other two, and carried by the Tübingen school to the point of a total denial of authenticity, on the basis of 5 arguments: these writings cannot be placed within the life of St. Paul as known from Acts; their literary form is too different from the other epistles, and presents many new words and phrases; the doctrine is also different, even on essential points of Pauline thought, for example, concerning faith without works; the errors combated are the Gnosticism of the 2nd century; the Church is presented with the hierarchical organization of the 2nd century, known from the letters of St. Ignatius.

Catholics adduce in favor numerous historical testimonies, starting from the most ancient writers: St. Clement of Rome, the Didache, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Polycarp, together with the unanimous manuscript tradition. Such arguments are not invalidated by the contrary internal arguments. Since Paul's first Roman imprisonment (ca. 61-63) ended with his liberation, after which he exercised his activity until 67, it is at least possible to place the pastorals in these years. Comparing these letters with the others of Paul, especially with the parenetic passages, the difference turns out to be smaller than with the letters of the imprisonment; they therefore represent a further stage. The false doctrines, like the counsels intended for pastors, demanded new terms, and Paul was a forger of new words (A. Deissmann). The similarities are also numerous, even in the rarest expressions (it is therefore unlikely that Paul made use of a redactor, as Feine-Behm suppose). In the "pastorals" almost all of Paul's doctrines are found again, not excluding that of faith without works; if there is an evolution, it corresponds to the new conditions in which the life of the Churches was unfolding. The errors condemned may be Gnostic ones, but only in an initial stage: Harnack acknowledges that they may all be earlier than 64. Even the form of hierarchy supposed here is earlier than that attested by St. Ignatius (the supreme power is not yet entirely in the hands of the local bishops, and the terms "bishop" and "presbyter" turn out to be synonymous), in a period of transition between the initial one (Acts 6, 1-6; 14, 23) and that of the 2nd century (v. DEACON; PRESBYTER).

Among non-Catholics the "fragmentary theory" prevails today: a forger of the 2nd century, in order to combat Gnosticism and recommend the hierarchy of the Church, would have composed these letters imitating the style of the Apostle, inserting into them passages of authentic letters, indeed entire "notes" (Harnack, Renan, von Soden, Bultmann). But the hypothesis raises more problems than it solves (Dibelius): because, among other things, the hierarchy and the errors are not presented as they existed in the 2nd century. No doubt is possible about the integrity of the pastorals.

2. Time of composition

Of the circumstances of composition not every particular can be determined with certainty. It is certain that the personal notices refer to an activity of Paul later than the Roman imprisonment of which Acts 28, 30 speaks.

It is generally held that the Apostle, immediately after having been in Spain, made the journey to the East attested by the three pastoral letters. The itinerary is very uncertain: according to some he would have gone first to Crete, leaving Titus there, then to Ephesus, where he installed Timothy; he would then have passed into Macedonia and from there would have written I Tim. and Tit. almost at the same time (65-66). From Nicopolis of Epirus, where he will have spent the winter, he would have returned to Troas, Ephesus, Miletus. Perhaps at this time he was again arrested and taken to Rome; according to others, however, the arrest took place at Rome, where Paul had returned of his own initiative together with St. Peter. Shortly after arriving in Rome he wrote II Tim., from which it is known that his imprisonment is very severe, so that his friends have difficulty in approaching him; having favorably passed the first hearing of the trial, Paul however hopes for no other liberation than through death.

There is no reason to change the chronological order hitherto universally admitted. II Tim. is certainly the last: according to it Paul is a prisoner and awaits death. It remains uncertain which of the other two, which show him free and in full activity, is earlier; most hold I Tim. Without true foundation von Soden, Moffat and others give precedence to II Tim. The Latin canon places the two to Timothy before that to Titus.

3. Doctrine

The doctrinal importance of I and II Tim. is notable. The principal doctrines of Christianity are touched upon in them with some development, especially the universality of the Redemption, the Church, the Sacraments, biblical inspiration (v. vol. VII, col. 320) (II Tim. 3, 16); above all the fundamental principles of ecclesiastical law; the power of the hierarchical grades emanates not from the assembly of the faithful but from apostolic authority through the rite of the imposition of hands (v.); the bishop appears already as the future heir of the full apostolic powers.

Of I Tim. the principal subject is the errors, from which Timothy must preserve the faithful, the virtues necessary in the officials of the Church, the duties of the various categories of persons. After the introductory formula (1, 1 f.), Paul reminds Timothy that he left him at Ephesus to counteract the heretics who still adhere to the Law, which instead after the Redemption no longer has reason to be, only the precept of charity remaining; Timothy is to act with decision toward those who thus make shipwreck of the faith (1, 1-20). He is then to insist on prayer, which must be made also for those who govern ("God wills the salvation of all"); it will be efficacious when it is raised from a pure heart, devoted to one's own duties (2, 1-15). Special virtues are required in bishops, in deacons, in the women who assist the officials of the Church; Timothy is to attend to this when he must decide their choice (3, 1-16). Timothy himself will have to forestall, with authoritative teaching corroborated by example, present and future errors, guarding himself first of all by the exercise of piety, keeping alive the grace of ordination (4, 1-16). Paul tells him how to behave with the various categories of the faithful, how to regulate himself for admission into the group of widows, with what reverence he must treat presbyters, but also how cautious he must be before conferring on them spiritual powers (5, 1-25). Duties of certain classes of persons, especially of slaves toward their masters, above all if Christian; the rich are to guard against avarice, the root of all evil (6, 1-21). Here the letter ends suddenly with the wish: "Grace be with you."

II Tim. has characteristics of its own. With the heartfelt accent of a father who leaves his last recommendations to his beloved son, St. Paul inculcates in Timothy the supreme duty of guarding the deposit of the faith, working as a "good soldier of Christ" in the tireless preaching of the Gospel, and ends by begging him to come soon to Rome.

In the prologue he recalls with gratitude to God the faith of T. inherited from his mother and grandmother (1, 1-5), then encourages him to exert himself in spreading the Gospel, rekindling the heavenly gifts received in ordination, without taking scandal at the trials the Apostle is undergoing, since for this God had chosen them both from eternity (1, 5-18). Let him therefore work as a good soldier of Christ, keeping far from worldly cares, glad to relive the sufferings of the Lord, avoiding vain controversies, the preferred weapon of the sowers of error, but without tiring of teaching the truth (2, 1-26). Paul foresees even graver errors and moral deviations in the future, but let T. not lose confidence in the final triumph; rather let him work with ardor, thinking of the teachings given him by him through word and example, and especially making use of the Holy Scriptures, whose efficacy is assured by their divine inspiration (3, 1-17). Let T. treasure these recommendations: they are perhaps the last, since the Apostle foresees the end as imminent through martyrdom, which however he regards as a sacrificial libation, the end and reward of his labors (4, 1-8c). Paul still desires to see T. one last time and begs him to come to Rome before winter, bringing Mark with him, who will help him intensify his too-limited ministry. Now Paul has remained almost alone: his former collaborators are far away. But by now, even though the first hearing of the case has turned out well for him, he harbors no illusions about his approaching end. Meanwhile, in the solitude of the cold prison, his cloak, left at Troas, would be useful to him, and the books and parchments of Holy Scripture would keep him grateful company: and he asks that it be brought to him. During T.'s absence from Ephesus, Tychicus will replace him. Other minor news follows, along with greetings and the blessing (4, 8d-22).

In this letter too (as in I Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9) there is cited perhaps one of the most ancient Christian maxims, introduced with the words "faithful is the saying" (II Tim. 11 ff.). From Jewish tradition, on the other hand, is drawn the name of the magicians Jannes and Jambres (Lat. Mambres) who opposed Moses before Pharaoh (3:8). With particular force the inspiration of the Old Testament is affirmed; unique in the New Testament is the mention here of prayer for the dead, certainly already in use among the faithful: the Apostle formulates a moving one for the Christian Onesiphorus who had benefited him and who at that time was almost certainly already dead (1:16-18 and 4:19). The intimate and personal tone of the letter is a good internal argument for authenticity, recognized by many non-Catholics; it was almost solely its stylistic similarity to I Tim. that gave rise to doubts.

Luigi Vagaggini