Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Titus (2.)

TITUS, one of the companions of St Paul, was of Greek origin (Gal. ii. 3), and appears to have been among the apostle's earliest converts; he is first mentioned (Gal. ii. 1) as having accompanied Paul, then in the course of his second missionary journey, from Antioch to Jerusalem. Here the Judaizing brethren desired that he should be circumcised; but the liberty of the gospel was successfully maintained. He was afterwards sent by Paul from Ephesus to Corinth, with, it would seem, a letter, no longer extant, more than once referred to in 2 Corinthians (ii. 3, vii. 8; comp. vol. vi. p. 401). He rejoined the apostle with favourable reports from Corinth in Mace donia, and was again sent (from Philippi) with another epistle, probably what is now known as the second, to the Corinthians, and charged with the further duty of promoting the proposed collection for poor Christians in Judaea. This is practically all that is known of him from the undisputed Pauline epistles. He is nowhere mentioned in the Acts. In the pastoral epistle with which his name is associated he is represented (Tit. i. 5) as having been left by Paul in Crete to "set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city." He is expected afterwards to join Paul at Nicopolis (iii. 12). In 2 Tim. iv. 10 he is spoken of as having gone to Dalmatia. Tradition, obviously resting on the Epistle to Titus, has it that he died in Crete as bishop at an advanced age.