Collaborators of the Apostles and the Reform of the Roman Curia

Do we have data about the collaborators of Peter that would support an analogy between them and the Roman Curia? Do the letters of Paul testify to a variety of “co-workers” who might provide a vision illuminating the Curia and its reform? Where might we find some precedents, or at least some ancient analogy that could provide a vision for illuminating theologically a reform of the Roman Curia that would go beyond mere legal changes and a bureaucratic restructuring?[1]

Apostolic leaders and their collaborators

The letters of St. Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, and further New Testament sources report the exercise of apostolic leadership by Peter, Paul and others in the very early Church.

Peter himself left Jerusalem to preach, for instance, in Lydda and Joppa (Acts 9:32-43), but we know little of his missionary activity outside Palestine.[2] His visit to Antioch prompted a famous difference with Paul (Gal 2:11-21); he was traditionally said to have become later the head (“bishop”) of its church. He may have visited Corinth (1 Cor 1:12). There is a possible reference to Peter’s activity in Rome (Rom 15:20), and he was martyred there, probably in A.D. 64.

It is only from long after his martyrdom that we have clear and convincing evidence of the existence of a monarchical Bishop of Rome.[3] He may have written 1 Peter, a letter sent from Rome (1 Pet 5:13) to Christian communities in five Roman provinces (1 Pet 1:1). The ancient tradition about Peter being associated with Mark in writing the second gospel has been vigorously argued by Richard Bauckham.[4]

The Acts of the Apostles, right up to the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, provide many details about Peter acting collegially with John, Paul and other apostles. But, apart from a tantalizing reference to Silvanus and Mark (1 Pet 5:12-13) and to “six brothers” who accompanied Peter on his visit to Cornelius (Acts 10:23,45; 11:12), the New Testament provides little direct witness about non-apostles who collaborated closely with Peter.

With Paul, the other outstanding apostolic leader who, like Peter, was martyred in Rome and who continues to be celebrated as the co-founder of its Church, we have, however, some indications about his immediate collaborators, albeit collaborators not normally in leading some settled community but in his traveling ministry as a missionary apostle. Could that collaboration provide some vision and inspiration for a kind of theological reform of the Roman Curia?

 Timothy as collaborator of Paul

With the aim not only of simplifying matters but also of examining thoroughly a limited amount of data, I propose restricting myself largely to the seven letters that by general agreement were directly composed by Paul and so constitute the earliest body of Christian literature: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. We can begin by investigating three collaborators of the apostle: Timothy, Titus and Epaphroditus.[5]

After recommending Phoebe (Rom 16:1-2) and sending his own greetings to many people in the Christian community of Rome (Rom 16:3-15), Paul adds a general greeting from “all the Churches of Christ” (Rom 16:16), a warning against those who cause dissent (Rom 16:17-20a), and a concluding blessing (Rom 16:20b). He then sends greetings from eight companions, starting with Timothy: “Timothy, my co-worker, greets you” (Rom 16:21-23).[6] Presumably Timothy is with the apostle when he dictates his letter. But can we also presume that Timothy is known to some or even many of the Christians in Rome?

Timothy being named, sometimes without explanation, in other letters suggests that he was widely known in various scattered Christian communities. In Paul’s earliest extant writing he is named as sending the letter with the apostle: “Paul, Silvanus[7] and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace” (1 Thess 1:1). Later in the same letter the apostle recalls how at a time of persecution he had dispatched Timothy to the Thessalonian Christians: “We sent Timothy our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions” (1 Thess 3:2). Paul is “an apostle of Christ Jesus,”[8] but he associates Timothy with him when writing to the Corinthians: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother to the Church of God that is in Corinth” (2 Cor 1:1). We will see below how Timothy was no stranger to the Corinthian Christians.[9]

 Paul is in prison awaiting trial (Phil 1:12-26) when he and Timothy, “servants/slaves of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:1) send a letter to the Philippians. Below we will see how Timothy is known to the Christians in Philippi, a major city in Macedonia and a Roman colony.

Without clarification, Timothy joins with Paul in a personal and public appeal to Philemon, Apphia and Archippus, as well as to the community that meets in one of their homes: “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister [a fellow Christian and probably Philemon’s wife], to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the community in your house: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philemon 1-3).[10] In short, Timothy is no anonymous companion of the apostle Paul but someone widely known in the young Christian communities.[11]

What is Timothy known for and what motivates Paul in calling him “my co-worker” and “brother”? The story of three communities of Christians fills out an answer. First, Paul obviously has great affection for the congregation he had founded in Thessalonica, the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia: “you are our glory and joy” (1 Thess 2:20). Separated from them and worried about them, the apostle sent Timothy to “strengthen and encourage them for the sake of their faith” (1 Thess 3:2).

Second, Timothy worked with Paul when they proclaimed “the Son of God, Jesus Christ” in Corinth and so became a co-founder of the local Church there (2 Cor 1:19; cf. Acts 18:5). Later, when troubles break out in that community, Timothy acts as Paul’s representative (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11; cf. Acts 19:22). What Timothy has done encourages the apostle to name him not merely with respect as “our brother” (2 Cor 1:1) but also as “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Cor 4:17). This latter passage and its context call for close attention as it shows how Timothy’s mission for Paul has gone to the very heart of the apostle’s existence and, indeed, Christian existence.

Paul presents that mission in this way: “In Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. For this reason I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every Church” (1 Cor 4:15-17).[12] Having reminded the Corinthian Christians that he is their one and only “father” because he brought them to birth in Christ Jesus through the Gospel, Paul draws the conclusion: “The picture is one of a father who has instructed his children in proper behavior by his own example. They are to be ‘like father, like children’.”[13] By modeling their lives on Paul’s example and teaching, that is, his “ways in Christ,” the Corinthians will in fact be imitating Christ himself. Later in the same letter Paul says just that: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1; cf. 1 Thess 1:6).

Since he comes in the place of Paul, Timothy should be regarded by the Corinthians “as though Paul himself were present among them.”[14] By helping the Corinthian community to remember Paul’s “ways in Christ Jesus,” Timothy is entrusted with mediating among them nothing less than the imitation of Christ that they had seen modeled by Paul himself. This is a delicate and profound mission that goes to the heart of Christian existence. One can understand why in this context the apostle is not content to describe Timothy simply as “co-worker,” “brother” or “fellow servant/slave,” but characterizes him tenderly as “my beloved and faithful child.” Here “faithful” indicates that Timothy is worthy of the trust Paul places in him; Timothy displays the faithfulness God requires of his servants (cf. 1 Cor 4:2).

It is as “son” that Paul represents Timothy when writing from jail to the Philippians – a letter to a third community that fills out the apostle’s picture of Timothy: “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one else like him (isopsychos) who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served/slaved with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me, and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon” (Phil 2:19-24).

Here we have Paul’s fullest and finest tribute to Timothy. Timothy obviously is not to be aligned with those who “are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Rather, he is “equal or like soul (isopsychos)” with Paul (and with the Philippians), someone who “sees things as I/we do.” More than simply being a “co-worker,” Timothy has served “like a son with his father.”[15]

The Christians of Philippi, evidently from previous contacts (cf. Acts 16), “know” his “worth.” His record and character are known to them. Moreover, he will be “genuinely concerned” for their “welfare.” He shares in what Paul calls elsewhere “my anxiety for all the Churches” (2 Cor 11:28). Since Timothy shows all these qualities, he is obviously the right person to be sent by the imprisoned apostle as his delegate or emissary to the community of Philippi.

The seven authentic letters of Paul yield a picture of Timothy and his relationship with the apostle that models what should be expected from members of the Roman Curia in their relationship with the pope. In all that Paul says about Timothy, no hint of careerism comes through; Timothy is no church official “seeking his own interest,” anxiously planning for higher office. No faceless bureaucrat, he is widely known for having proclaimed the gospel in Corinth and having, “with and under” Paul, co-founded the local Church there.

Other Christians, such as those who make up the communities in Rome, Thessalonica, Philippi or who are associated with Philemon, have met Timothy or are at least aware of him. He is a missionary of proven worth, totally trusted by Paul as a “brother,” “son” and fellow “slave” of Jesus Christ, and a “faithful” servant of God, who sees things as Paul does and who helps Christians to model their lives on Paul’s teaching and example and so promotes the “imitation” of Christ himself.

The regular descriptions of Timothy as Paul’s “traveling companion,” “envoy,” “delegate” or “representative” can mask the full reality of how Timothy “slaved” away with the apostle. Even the term “co-worker” fails to summarize all that Paul says about his experience of being on mission with Timothy.

The full account of Timothy supplies a challenging narrative for those called to collaborate with the pope in the Roman Curia. This holds true also of Titus, especially in the area of handling money.

Titus as collaborator of Paul

Gentile (“Greek”) by birth, Titus may have been converted and baptized by Paul himself. He joined the apostle on a visit to the Christian leaders and community in Jerusalem.[16] Some Jewish Christians held that conversion to the practices of Judaism formed a precondition for entry into Christianity, and required the circumcision of Titus. This was a concession that Paul vigorously rejected.

Titus provided Paul with a test case for accepting uncircumcised Gentiles into the Church and not imposing on them other such prescriptions of the Torah. Peter, John and James (the relation of Jesus and not one of the Twelve) agreed with Paul continuing his mission among the uncircumcised Gentiles. They “asked only one thing,” that Paul “remember the poor” Christian community in Jerusalem – something that he was “eager to do” (Gal 2:1-10). In fact, he organized among the churches that he had founded a collection on behalf of the Church in Jerusalem – a project of financial assistance in which Titus played a central role.[17]

Like Timothy and Silvanus (2 Cor 1:1,19), Titus was involved in Paul’s relations with the Christian community in Corinth. He probably carried there the apostle’s “letter of tears” (2 Cor 2:3-4; 7:8). He brought back to Paul, who had traveled to Macedonia (2 Cor 2:13), the news that this letter had been favorably received by the Corinthians: “God who consoles the downcast consoled us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled about you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more ” (2 Cor 7:6-7).

Having already alerted the Corinthians to “the consolation with which he [Titus] was consoled about you,” Paul underlined the joy of Titus himself over the happy outcome of his mission that firmly reestablished the community’s obedience to Paul, the apostle who had founded their Church: “In addition to our own consolation, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his mind has been set at rest by all of you. For if I have been somewhat boastful about you to him, I was not disgraced. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved true as well. And his heart goes out all the more to you, as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling” (2 Cor 7:13-15).

After helping to put things right in Corinth, Titus rejoiced to recall how things worked out in Corinth just as Paul had promised. At once we learn of Titus being pressed into service in another project.

Paul appealed to the Corinthians to complete their contribution to a collection for the Christian community in Jerusalem, a collection intended not only to relieve its economic poverty but also to express the union between it and the relatively well-off and largely Gentile churches around the Mediterranean.[18] Paul had started this collection among other Churches and in Corinth (1 Cor 16:1-4; cf. Rom 15:25-27), and now wanted Titus to “complete this generous undertaking” among the Corinthians (2 Cor 8:6). The apostle was delighted at the spontaneous response of Titus, whom he called “my partner and co-worker in your service” (2 Cor 8:23): “thanks be to God who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I have. For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he is more eager than ever he is going to you of his own accord” (2 Cor 8:16-17).

Before 2 Corinthians ends, we learn that Paul had to answer charges that he and Titus had taken advantage of the community in Corinth to enrich themselves. Some Corinthians evidently accused Paul and Titus of skimming the collection funds, a charge that Paul vigorously denied (2 Cor 12:14-18). He mentions one or two anonymous “brothers” sent with Titus to Corinth, who could witness to the honesty of the proceedings (2 Cor 8:18, 22-23; 9:5; 12:18).

At the risk of being anachronistic, one might see the accusations concerning the collection foreshadowing fictitious or well-founded accusations of financial wrongdoing involving members of the Roman Curia.

All in all, on his two visits Titus seems to have been involved both in resolving grave difficulties over Paul’s missionary activity (which provoked the apostle’s “letter of tears” to the Corinthian community) and in promoting the collection (which occasioned the charge of financial irregularities). Paul was obviously grateful for the generous and successful collaboration Titus offered on both occasions.[19] Even though the apostle very likely never wrote these words, his sentiments were reflected when, according to the Letter to Titus, he called Titus a “loyal child in the faith” (Tit 1:4). Paul’s known, even widely known, regard for this collaborator helped provide plausibility for this letter encouraging Titus to complete a mission on the island of Crete (Tit 1:5).

Epaphroditus as collaborator of Paul

It is only in Philippians 2:25-30 and 4:18 that Paul mentions Epaphroditus.[20] He brought gifts to Paul from Philippi. When he returned, he was most likely the courier who carried Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Those are the headlines; let us now see the small print.

As regards the Philippians, Epaphroditus is their “messenger and minister.” For Paul, he is “my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier” and “minister (leitourgos) to my need” (Phil 2:25). Paul reaches for cultic language to describe the gifts that have come at the hands of this leitourgos: “I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Phil 4:18).

The apostle’s language about Epaphroditus being his “co-worker and fellow soldier” seems to imply more than someone arriving with gifts from a Christian community and then returning home with a letter for that community. But Paul offers no details about any ongoing collaboration that would clearly justify speaking about Epaphroditus as sharing with him the “work” and “battle” of missionary activity.

Epaphroditus risked his life to visit Paul, fell ill and almost died. In describing what has happened, the apostle evokes his own feelings, as well as those of his visitor and his community: longing, distress, sorrow, eagerness, rejoicing and anxiety. “He has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. I am the more eager to send him, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me” (Phil 2:26-30).

To sum up, Epaphroditus symbolizes a wonderful blend of the material and the spiritual that collaboration with an apostolic leader could entail. He brings to Paul financial support, and then takes home to the community at Philippi an affectionate, very joyful and utterly Christ-centered letter.

Further collaborators of Paul

Any list of Pauls’ “co-workers” should take in Phoebe, Prisca and Aquila, and Urbanus – all mentioned in the final chapter of Romans. Phoebe had brought Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome.[21] Paul spoke of Phoebe as “our sister” and “a deacon of the Church at Cenchreae.”[22] The Cenchreae in question was a port serving the nearby city of Corinth, from which Paul wrote to the Roman Christians.

As “our sister,” Phoebe was a fellow Christian of the Corinthian community with whom Paul was then staying. The apostle asked the Church of Rome to welcome and help her “in whatever way she may require from you,” as “is fitting” for a fellow Christian, one of “the saints” (Rom 16:1-2).

But Phoebe was not merely a Christian who acted as a courier for Paul. “She has been,” Paul wrote, “a patroness (prostatis) of many here and of myself too” (Rom 16:2). While many commentators have understood the title figuratively as helper or benefactor, Fitzmyer points out that, like the Latin patrona, it “denoted a person of prominence in the ancient Greco-Roman world.” So Paul was acknowledging “the public service that this prominent woman has given to many Christians at Cenchreae,” as a leader of their community. Fitzmyer comments: “she probably owned a house there and, as a wealthy, influential person involved in commerce, was in a position to assist missionaries and other Christians who traveled to and from Corinth. We can only speculate about the kind of assistance she gave: hospitality? championing their cause before secular authorities? furnishing funds for journeys?” Paul also “acknowledges the debt he owes Phoebe. She perhaps played hostess to him when he visited Cenchreae at times during his three-month stay in Corinth.”[23]

Unlike Phoebe, who seems to have been a Gentile Christian, Prisca (sometimes called by the diminutive “Priscilla”) and Aquila were a Jewish-Christian couple who, around A.D. 49, had been banished from Rome, along with other Christians, by an edict of the Emperor Claudius (Acts 18:2).[24] They created a Church community in their home (1 Cor 16:19) and became “fellow workers” of Paul (Rom 16:3), sharing in his mission of evangelization either at Corinth (Acts 18:3) or at Ephesus (1 Cor 16:19; Acts 18:26).

It is plausible to think with Fitzmyer that, when Nero permitted Jews (and Jewish Christians) to return to Rome, “it was Paul who urged them [Prisca and Aquila] to return to Rome as a ‘vanguard’ to assemble a house church and prepare for his arrival.” They were “undoubtedly Paul’s source of information about the contemporary situation in the Roman community.”[25]

As well as having been “co-workers,” Prisca and Aquila had “risked their necks” for Paul (Rom 16:4). Fitzmyer comments: “Paul gratefully recalls some intervention of Prisca and Aquila on his behalf which endangered them as well, either at Ephesus (perhaps at the riot of the silversmiths: Acts 19:23), or during some Ephesian imprisonment, to which Paul may refer in 1 Cor 15:32 and 2 Cor 1:8-9. They may have attempted to use some of the influence that their wealth and social position gave them.”[26]

In the course of his greetings to Roman Christians, Paul also saluted “Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ” (Rom 16:9) but added no details about the place and nature of their collaboration. When dealing with the rivalry that the ministry of Apollos had triggered in Corinth, Paul wrote: “We are God’s servants, working together” (1 Cor 3:9). Thus Urbanus and Apollos belong with Timothy, Titus, Epaphroditus, Aquila and Clement among Paul’s treasured “co-workers.” But that group also included Phoebe and Prisca and, as we shall see, some other women.

Two women leaders among the Christians of Philippi were Euodia and Syntyche.[27] Paul recognized how these women “have struggled (sun?thl?san) beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers” (Phil 4:2-3). This language recalls Paul’s earlier injunctions about “struggling (sunathlountes) side by side for the faith of the gospel,” not being “intimidated by your opponents,” and having the same struggle (ag?na) that you saw I had and now hear that I have” (Phil 1:27-30).

Some disagreement had broken out between Euodia and Syntyche, and was having a bad effect on the Church of Philippi and causing factions. Paul asked “my loyal companion,” an unknown but obviously influential person to mediate between the two women.[28] But the current difficulty took nothing away from Paul’s esteem for Euodia and Syntyche, his co-workers, “whose names are in the book of life” (Phil 4:3).

In their closing greetings to Philemon, Paul and Timothy mention “co-workers” who also send greetings: Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke (cf. Philemon 24; Col 4:10-14). But nothing further is indicated, at least here, about the collaboration of these four in the mission of the apostle (Philemon 24).

Conclusion

From this examination of the seven certainly authentic letters of Paul, we can see how some of the collaborators were men and some were women; some were Gentile Christians (Titus) and some Jewish Christians (Prisca and Aquila); some were closely associated for a long time with Paul’s ministry (Timothy), while with others (Urbanus) we have no idea of such details. How the collaborators were recruited to share in Paul’s mission remains, for the most part, obscure. Even in the case of Timothy, we do not learn from Paul himself but only from Acts 16:2-3 that the apostle chose Timothy because of his “good reputation.” Even then, we are not told what this reputation was based on.

Nevertheless, Paul does let us see what these collaborators whom he called his “co-workers” did, and we can draw two conclusions about them.

First, their mission covered a range of activities: from co-founding a Church (Timothy) to acting as couriers for Paul’s letters (Epaphroditus and Phoebe), from resolving difficulties for the apostle (Titus) to bringing him financial support (Epaphroditus), from being co-senders of Paul’s letters (Timothy) to making their home into a house church (Prisca and Aquila), from promoting among others the imitation of Paul, and so of Christ (Timothy) to fundraising for the Jerusalem church (Titus), from being a “patroness” of Paul and others (Phoebe) to “working for the gospel” (Euodia and Syntyche), from “risking their neck” for Paul (Prisca and Aquila) to bringing him good news (Titus); from fulfilling a local, residential ministry (Eudodia and Syntyche in Philippi, and Phoebe in Cenchreae) to being on the road as itinerant missionaries with Paul and for Paul (Timothy and Titus).

The collaborators of Paul gave themselves to a variety of missions, working with the apostle who was to become in martyrdom the co-founder of the Church of Rome. They can be seen as prefiguring the many tasks given in our time to the members of the pope’s Curia.

Second, for most of his “co-workers” Paul has nothing but praise. In the case of Euodia and Syntyche there are personal conflicts to be dealt with. Paul values them highly and has no doubts about inscribing them in God’s “book of life.”

So we can recognize in the apostolic collaborators, whom Paul presents in his seven certainly authentic letters, an inspiring vision and model for reforming the Roman Curia.

[1].Cf. M. Faggioli, “The Roman Curia at and after Vatican II: Legal-Rational or Theological Reform?” in Theological Studies 76 (2015) 550-571.

[2].Peter (along with John) also visited Samaria (Acts 8:14-25) and was in Caesarea for his important meeting with Cornelius (Acts 10:24; cf. 12:19). On Peter and his activity cf. R. E. Brown – K. P. Donfried – J. Reumann (eds.), Peter in the New Testament: A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars, Minneapolis, Augsburg, 1973; M. Bockmuehl, The Remembered Peter: In Ancient Reception and Modern Debate, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2010; M. Hengel, Saint Peter: The Underestimated Apostle, Grand Rapids (Mi), Eerdmans, 2010.

[3].Cf. P. Lampe, From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries, Minneapolis, Fortress, 2003.

[4].Cf. R. Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, Grand Rapids (Mich.), Eerdmans, 2006, 155-182.

[5].For summaries of the New Testament data on these three figures, cf. J. Gillman, “Epaphroditus,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 2, New York, Doubleday, 1992, 533-534; J. Gillman, “Timothy,” in ibid., vol. 6, 558-560; J. Gillman, “Titus,” in ibid., vol. 6, 581-582. Cf. F. F. Bruce, The Pauline Circle, Grand Rapids (Mi), Eerdmans, 1985; W.-H. Ollrog, Paulus und seine Mitarbeiter, Neukirchen – Vluyn, Neukirchener Verlag, 1979.

[6].Although some scholars still disagree, many argue convincingly that Rom 16 belongs to Paul’s letter to the Romans: cf. B. Byrne, Romans, Collegeville (Mi), Liturgical Press, 1996, 29; J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, New York, Doubleday, 1992, 49-50; R. Jewett, Romans: A Commentary, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2007, 8-9; D. J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, Grand Rapids (Mi), Eerdmans, 1996, 5-9; 912.

[7].Sylvanus is the Latin form of Silas, whom Acts mentions as a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 15:22-18:5), and whom Paul names as being with him at the founding of the Corinthian church (2 Cor 1:19).

[8].In 1 Thess 2:7, the phrase “apostles of Christ” may include Timothy along with Paul (and Silvanus).

[9].Since Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus (1 Cor 16:10) and sent Timothy from that city to Corinth (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11), we can presume that Timothy was also known at least to some Ephesian Christians. According to 1 Tim 1:3, he would be urged to remain in Ephesus and correct misleading teaching that was being disseminated there.

[10].Cf. J. D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon, Grand Rapids (Mi), Eerdmans, 1996 311-313.

[11].Other New Testament sources yield further evidence that Timothy was widely known. In Col 1:1 and 2 Thess 2:1 he is presented as being the co-sender of both letters; according to Acts 16:3, he was a companion of Paul. In the practical instructions and greetings which make up the final chapter of Hebrews we read: “I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free; and if he comes in time, he will be with me when I visit you” (Heb 13:23); cf. C. R. Koester, Hebrews: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, New York, Doubleday, 2001, 580-581. Finally, whatever we hold about the authorship of 1 and 2 Timothy, the fact that two letters attributed to Paul are addressed to Timothy suggests the latter’s known standing as a co-worker of the apostle, at least among later Christians.

[12].Cf. J. A. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, New Haven (Co), Yale University Press, 2008, 221-224.

[13].G. D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 186.

[14].G. D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 188.

[15].Cf. J. Reumann, Philippians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, New Haven (Conn.), Yale University Press, 2008, 422.

[16].Cf. J. L. Martyn, Galatians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, New York, Doubleday, 1998, 187-228.

[17].Barnabas joined Paul on that visit to Jerusalem and was obviously involved with him in the mission to the Gentiles (Gal 2:1, 9). When Paul confronted Peter in Antioch, he feared that Peter was leading Barnabas astray in compelling Gentile Christian to live like Jews (Gal 2:13). In another letter Paul refers to the way he and Barnabas did not press their right to be supported financially by the communities (1 Cor 9:6). Yet in the seven certainly authentic letters of Paul, he says little about Barnabas, a central figure in Acts 4-15, and never names him as his “co-worker.”

[18].Cf. S. J. Joubert, “Collection, The,” in K. D. Sakenfeld (ed.), The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1, Nashville, Abingdon, 2008, 698-699; K. F. Nickle, The Collection: A Study in Paul’s Strategy, London, SCM, 1966.

[19].The two visits may have taken place in reverse order, with Titus first visiting Corinth to administer the collection for the Church in Jerusalem and returning later to negotiate a reconciliation between Paul and the Corinthians, who had come to doubt the apostle’s legitimacy and financial reliability.

[20].Cf. J. Reumann, Philippians, 423-434, 438-439, 442-450, 666-670.

[21].On Phoebe, cf. B. Byrne, Romans, cit., 47-48; J.A. Fitzmyer, Romans, cit., 728-733; F. M. Gillman, “Phoebe,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, cit., vol. 5, 348-349.

[22].Fitzmyer comments: “Diakonos may designate her generically as an ‘assistant’ or ‘minister’ in the church or specifically as a ‘deacon,’  a member of a special group in the church. There is no way of saying whether the term refers at this time to the diaconate, an ‘order’ which clearly emerged in the church by the time of Ignatius of Antioch” (Romans, cit., 729).

[23].J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans, cit., 731.

[24].Peter Lampe, “Prisca,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, cit., vol. 5, 487-488.

[25].J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans, cit., 735.

[26].J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans, cit., 735.

[27].Cf. F. M. Gillman, “Euodia,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 2, 670-71; J. Gillman, “Syntyche,” ibid., vol. 6, 270; J. Reumann, Philippians…, cit., 607-11, 625-633.

[28].The Greek word for “companion” could possibly be translated as a proper name, Syzygus.