The Holy Apostle Timothy
THE MOST FAITHFUL COWORKER OF THE APOSTLE PAUL
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As the fragrant rose grows from thorns, so the holy apostle Timothy came from a Greek father, who was very famous for his idolatry and belief in evil and he had an extremely bad nature. However, the mother, and, grandmother of this holy apostle were the complete opposite of his father. As devout Jewish women, both were holy and righteous, adorned with virtues, and were among the first to embrace the Christian faith. The name of the apostle Timothy means “honoured by God”, and he was indeed honoured by God to be a disciple of the holy apostle Paul, and later of the beloved disciple of Christ, the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian.
The holy apostle Timothy was born and raised in the city of Lycia, in the region of Lystra, Anatolia, in the 17th year after Christ (17 AD). At that time, the holy apostle Paul, together with the holy apostle Barnabas, came to Lystra. Arriving there, they performed a great miracle: with one word they healed a crippled man; he was born crippled from his mother’s womb. Whereupon people were amazed and wondered if they were men or gods, so they said: “The gods came down to us in human form” (Acts 14, 11).
But after the apostles and preachers of the Living God, who preached true repentance, convinced the people that they were not gods, many abandoned their former idolatrous fallacy and turned to the true faith. Among them was the mother of this blessed apostle Timothy, who was widowed at an early age. She joyfully received the evangelical preaching of the holy apostle Paul and was baptised. After receiving Baptism, she wished with all her heart to dedicate her son Timothy to God, as a gratitude for the miracle performed in their city.
Even from his youth, Timothy showed himself to be shrewd and of sound judgment, being more attached to his mother than to his father, who was a gentile. He received the true faith from his mother and grandmother and diligently taught himself regarding the faith, according to the holy apostle Paul in his Second Epistle to Timothy, saying: “… when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.” (2 Tim. 1, 5) It was a real blessing for him to be taught the word of the Lord from a young age.
When Saint Paul saw him, seeing that he was smart and meek, and that the grace of God was with him, he loved him very much and wanted to take him with him. But as he was still very young and could not travel, he brought him home and ordered his experienced teachers to teach him the Holy Scriptures and piety.
After several years, Saint Paul the Apostle, when he was preparing for his second missionary journey, took Silas with him and left Antioch to visit the brothers and sisters in all the cities where he had previously preached the word of God. During that trip, he again visited Lystra, where Saint Timothy lived. Seeing that Timothy had already grown up, adorned with every virtue and highly respected by all the brothers in Lystra and Iconium, the apostle Paul took him with him and introduced him to the apostolic ministry. Timothy became his most faithful companion and served him in the Lord during all his endeavours and journeys.
Before they left, so that there would be no disturbance among the Jews and the preaching of the word of God would not be hindered, the holy apostle Paul took Timothy with him and circumcised him in accordance with the law of Moses: ” And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.” (Acts 16, 3).
The Holy Apostle Timothy supported and followed his teacher in everything, as the apostle Paul himself writes: “You have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3, 10-12), thus foreshadowing the martyrdom of the holy apostle Timothy.
The Holy Apostle Timothy shone with all the virtues of the apostolic ministry. He accepted the apostolic call and, renouncing everything earthly, took upon himself the cross of Christ, and followed Him preaching His salvific knowledge. By nature, he was humble, meek, friendly, he treated everyone with respect, he did not return evil for evil, and he prayed unceasingly for all those who suffered, as a true follower of his teacher, the holy apostle Paul.
Apostolic service
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(2 Tim. 1, 6–7)
Seeing how his student grows in spirit and knowledge, Holy Apostle Paul ordained Saint Timothy first a deacon, then a priest, and although he was still young, he also appointed him to the highest rank in the priesthood, a bishop. As a priest, Saint Timothy proved himself worthy of this holy calling, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the apostolic struggle. He was a great collaborator of the apostles in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Neither youth, nor illness, nor physical weakness prevented this zealous warrior of Christ and supporter of the work of the Holy Apostle Paul in the struggle of apostolic service for seventeen years, about which Paul himself writes: “If, however, Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.” (1 Cor. 16, 10). And before that, praising him, he writes: “Brethren, for this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. (1 Cor. 4, 17). In another Epistle he calls him his brother: “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and brother Timothy” (Phil. 1). And again: “And we sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow labourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith.” (1 Thess. 3, 2).
These, and many other praises for Saint Timothy are recorded in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul. Saint Timothy did not become arrogant nor proud because of them, but living in humility, he mortified himself so much with fasting and prayer that his teacher, Saint Paul himself, who saw his struggles and fasting, sympathised with him. He advised him not to drink water, but a little wine, because of his frequent illnesses. But although his body was constantly exposed to illnesses, the nobility of his soul was healthy and never injured.
With his teacher he travelled to the corners of the world, preaching the word of God in Ephesus, Corinth, Macedonia, Italy, and Spain. It can rightly be said about them: “Their voice goes out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the universe.” (Psalm 18, 4). Saint Timothy was shrewd, quick to answer, an extraordinarily sweet-spoken preacher of God, especially in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, a most worthy pastor in the governance of the Church and for the defence of the Church, especially because he drew his teaching from two abundant sources of grace: because his teacher was not only the holy apostle Paul, but also Christ’s beloved disciple John.
When the Holy Apostle Paul left for Athens, the Holy Apostles Silas and Timothy stayed for a while in Ber and in Thessalonica before rejoining him in Corinth. Then, Saint Timothy is mentioned in the Acts of the Holy Apostles during the stay of the Holy Apostle Paul in Ephesus (years 54-57). Towards the end of 56 or early 57 AD, Paul sent Timothy to Macedonia in order for him to finally arrive in Corinth. Saint Timothy arrived in Corinth, but since the Epistle was not well received, Timothy quickly returned to Ephesus to inform his teacher about this. The holy apostles Timothy and Paul stayed in Corinth during the winter of 57-58 AD, when Paul sent his Epistle to the Romans. Then, according to the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the holy apostle Timothy was with Paul in Macedonia just before the Passover in the year 58 AD. He left the city before the apostle Paul, in order to arrive before Saint Paul and wait for him in Troas. This is the last mention of the holy apostle Timothy in the Acts of the Holy Apostles. In the year 64, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to govern the church there and made him Bishop (Episcope).
Teacher of truth
For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, and not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. (Phil. 2, 9–23)
The epistles of the holy apostle Paul: The second epistle to the Corinthians, the epistles to the Philippians, the Colossians, the two epistles to the Thessalonians, as well as the epistle to Philemon, were written by the holy apostle Timothy. To the holy apostle Timothy personally, the apostle Paul even wrote two Epistles.
In the First Epistle, he writes to Timothy about the organization of the Church and the personal leadership of the Church as the Body of Christ. He teaches him how to implement the Law, warns against false teaching such as encratism, then gives him lessons about prayer, about the role of women in the Church, about the leaders of the Church and the behaviour towards widows, elders, servants, young people, i.e. about the members of The church in general.
In the Second Epistle, the Holy Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy “not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,” (2 Tim. 1, 8). He gives him a final piece of advice, strengthening him in his faith: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at the coming of His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with great longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but, according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap-up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry well!” (2 Tim. 4, 1-5).
He also invites his beloved child Timothy to visit him in prison, where the apostle Paul awaited his martyrdom, so that they can farewell each other: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. Make sure you come to me soon!” (2 Tim. 4, 6–9).
In eternity
The Lord preserves the souls of his saints;
he delivers them out of the hand of wicked.
(Ps. 96, 10–11)
When the Roman emperor Dometian banished Saint John the Theologian to the island of Patmos, then Saint Timothy replaced him on the holy throne, becoming the Bishop of the city of Ephesus, where he suffered for Christ after a short time.
At that time, a festival called Katagogium was especially celebrated in Ephesus. At this pagan festival, men and women dressed up and masked themselves, and with shameless games went around the streets of the city, carrying idols in their hands. They sang loud songs, raged and attacked passers-by like robbers, and some, they even killed. And other indecent iniquities they committed, thinking that thereby they pleased their false gods. When he saw this, the divine Timothy, inflamed with the fire of divine zeal, entered this blasphemous mass, and began to preach openly and boldly about the only true God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to expose (refute) the idolatry and vanity of their false gods.
And they, blinded by the darkness of their demonic possession, furiously attacked the holy apostle and began to beat him fiercely with sticks and anything that came to hand. They beat him and crushed him to the ground, beating him heartlessly and leaving him almost dead. When the Christians found him, he was at his last breathe. They took him outside the city, to a place called Pion, where he soon breathed his last breath and passed into the arms of his beloved Lord Jesus Christ, in the year 97. His holy body, covered in wounds, was honourably buried. His holy memory is celebrated on January 22/February 4.
During his long suffering life, Saint Timothy was imprisoned at least once, as stated in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which mentions Timothy’s release. Saint Timothy spent seventeen years with the Apostle Paul, from his visit to Lystra during his second missionary journey until the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul in Rome.
After a long time, by the order of the emperor Constans, the son of the holy emperor Constantine the Great, the holy martyr Artemios transferred the holy relics of the holy apostle Timothy to Constantinople and laid them in the church of the Holy Apostles, next to the relics of the holy apostles Luke and Andrew the First-Called. By God’s will, those who preached the Gospel together in this life, shared the grave and bliss in the heavens, in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
Fr. Gavril Galev
Abbot of the Monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
