Titus was a Greek, who may have studied Greek philosophy and poetry in his early years. He seems to have been converted by Paul, whereupon he served as Paul's
secretary and
interpreter. In the year 48 or 49 CE, Titus accompanied Paul to the council held at Jerusalem, on the subject of the
Mosaic rites. In the fall of 55 or 56 CE, Paul, as he himself departed from
Asia, sent Titus from
Ephesus to
Corinth, with full commission to remedy the fallout precipitated by Timothy's delivery of 1 Corinthians and Paul's "Painful Visit", particularly a significant personal offense and challenge to Paul's authority by one unnamed individual. During this journey, Titus served as the
courier for what is commonly known as the "Severe Letter", a Pauline missive that has been
lost but is referred to in . After success on this mission, Titus journeyed north and met Paul in
Macedonia. There the apostle, overjoyed by Titus' success, wrote 2 Corinthians. Titus then returned to Corinth with a larger entourage, carrying 2 Corinthians with him. Paul joined Titus in Corinth later. From Corinth, Paul then sent Titus to organize the collections of
alms for the Christians at Jerusalem. Titus was therefore a
troubleshooter,
peacemaker,
ecclesiastical administrator, and
missionary. Early church tradition holds that Paul, after his release from his first imprisonment in Rome, stopped at the island of Crete to preach. Due to the needs of other churches, requiring his presence elsewhere, he ordained his disciple Titus as bishop of that island, and left him to finish the work he had started.
John Chrysostom says that this is an indication of the esteem Paul held for Titus. Later, Titus traveled to
Dalmatia. The
New Testament does not record his death. ==Possible identification with Timothy==