Epistle to Titus

The Epistle to Titus is one of the important letters in the New Testament. It is often grouped with two other letters called the pastoral epistles: 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. People have traditionally believed that Paul the Apostle wrote this letter.

This letter was sent to a person named Saint Titus. In it, Paul talks about what kinds of people should be chosen as leaders in the church. He also explains the jobs and responsibilities of these leaders, who are sometimes called presbyters or bishops.

The ideas in this letter helped shape how many churches organize their leaders even today. It shows how early Christians thought about leadership and working together.

Text

The letter is divided into three chapters, and it has 46 verses in total.

Recipient

Saint Titus is not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, but he is noted in Galatians. Paul wrote about traveling to Jerusalem with Barnabas and being accompanied by Titus. After that, Titus was sent to Corinth in Greece, where he helped bring the Christian community there back together with Paul. Later, Titus was left on the island of Crete to help organize the church there. He eventually met up with Paul again in Nicopolis and then traveled to Dalmatia, which is now part of Croatia. According to Eusebius of Caesarea in the Ecclesiastical History, Titus was the first bishop of Crete.

Authenticity

Further information: First Epistle to Timothy § Authorship

Some people think the letter called the Epistle to Titus was written by Paul, the same as the letters to Timothy. They say this is because all three letters start with a greeting from Paul and have personal notes. But others think these letters were not actually written by Paul.

Some scholars believe Titus and the other letters to Timothy were not written by Paul. They think someone else wrote these letters after Paul died. They say the words and style of these letters do not match what we know about Paul's writing. These scholars think the letters were written later, in the time of the early church.

These letters share many phrases and topics with each other, which makes some scholars think the same person wrote all three letters. Even a writer named Basilides did not accept this letter.

Some newer ideas suggest that Paul may have had a helper write his letters, which was common at that time.

Epimenides paradox

The Epistle to Titus talks about the Epimenides paradox. It tells about a prophet from Crete who said, "Cretans always lie." This shows a tricky idea that people have thought about for a long time.

secular Epimenides paradox