St Timothy was from the Lycaonian city of Derbe in Asia Minor. He was born of a Jewish mother who had converted to Christianity, and a Greek father. St Timothy was a respected member of the Christian congregation, as were his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. The New Testament indicates that he travelled with Paul the Apostle, who was his mentor. In 1 Corinthians 16:10, there is a suggestion that he was by nature reserved and timid: “When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord“.
St Timothy became St Paul’s disciple, and later his constant companion and co-worker in preaching. In the year 52, Paul and Silas took Timothy along with them on their journey to Macedonia. Augustine extols his zeal in immediately forsaking his country, his house, and his parents, to follow the apostle, to share in his poverty and sufferings.
Timothy may have been subject to ill health or “frequent ailments“, and was encouraged, in the Pauline epistles (1 Timothy 5:23) to “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake“. St Timothy is the patron saint of stomach and intestinal ailments.
His relationship with Paul was close. St Timothy’s name appears as the co-author on 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. St Paul wrote to the Philippians about Timothy, “I have no one like him.” When St Paul was in prison and awaiting martyrdom, he summoned his faithful friend St Timothy for a last farewell.
That St Timothy was jailed at least once during the period of the writing of the New Testament is implied by the writer of Hebrews mentioning St Timothy’s release at the end of the epistle.
Although not stated in the New Testament, other sources have records of the apostle’s death. The apocryphal Acts of Timothy states that in the year 97 AD, the 80-year-old bishop tried to halt a procession in honor of the goddess Diana by preaching the Gospel. The angry pagans beat him, dragged him through the streets, and stoned him to death.
From the 13th century until 1969 the feast of St Timothy was on 24 January, the day before that of the Conversion of St Paul.
The General Roman Calendar venerates St Timothy together with St Titus on 26 January, the day after the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul. St Timothy is honored on the calendars of the Church of England and the Episcopal Church (with St Titus) on 26 January.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
who sent your Apostle Paul to preach the gospel,
and gave him Timothy and Titus to be his companions in faith:
grant that our fellowship in the Holy Spirit
may bear witness to the name of Jesus,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
one God, now and forever.
A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy Chapter 2 Verses 1-8
You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me through many witnesses, entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David – that is my gospel.
