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TO THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. CHAPTER ONE. Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect
and the acknowledgment of the truth which is according to godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the ages began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior; To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint presbyters in every city as I commanded you. If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. Bishops. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, 95.1028 sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped; who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, their own He does not mean here the one who fasts, but the one who has mastery of every passion. Prophet; "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. All things indeed are pure to the Prophet, here he means the poet, Callimachus. And why by his testimony? Because we especially shame them by these things, when we bring the accusations from among their own. To the pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him. being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
CHAP. II. But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober,
reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands. Not according to their own nature, but according to the choice of those who partake. that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of us. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters in all things, to be well pleasing, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
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ΕΙΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΤΟΝ. ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΠΡΩΤΟΝ. Παῦλος δοῦλος Θεοῦ, ἀπόστολος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κατὰ πίστιν ἐκλεκτῶν
Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας τῆς κατ' εὐσέβειαν ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἣν ἐπηγγείλατο ὁ ἀψευδὴς Θεὸς πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων, ἐφανέρωσεν δὲ καιροῖς ἰδίοις τὸν Λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐν κηρύγματι, ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγὼ κατ' ἐπιταγὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ, Τίτῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ κατὰ κοινὴν πίστιν· χάρις, ἔλεος, εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τούτου χάριν κατέλιπόν σε ἐν Κρήτῃ, ἵνα τὰ λείποντα ἐπιδιορθώσῃ, καὶ καταθήσῃς κατὰ πόλιν πρεσβυτέρους, ὡς ἐγὼ διεταξάμην. Εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἀνέγκλητος, μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνὴρ, τέκνα ἔχων πιστὰ, μὴ ἐν κατηγορίᾳ ἀσωτίας, ἢ ἀνυπότακτα. Ἐπισκόπους. ∆εῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνέγκλητον εἶναι ὡς Θεοῦ οἰκονόμον, μὴ αὐθάδη, μὴ ὀργίλον, μὴ πάροινον, μὴ πλήκτην, μὴ αἰσχροκερδῆ, ἀλλὰ φιλόξενον, φιλάγα 95.1028 θον, σώφρονα, δίκαιον, ὅσιον, ἐγκρατῇ, ἀντεχόμενον τοῦ κατὰ τὴν διδαχὴν πιστοῦ λόγου, ἵνα δυνατὸς ᾖ καὶ παρακαλεῖν ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ, καὶ τοὺς ἀντιλέγοντας ἐλέγχειν. Εἰσὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ καὶ ἀνυπότακτοι, ματαιολόγοι, φρεναπάται, μάλιστα οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς, οὓς δεῖ ἐπιστομίζειν· οἵτινες ὅλους οἴκους ἀνατρέπουσιν, διδάσκοντες ἃ μὴ δεῖ, αἰσχροκέρδους χάριν. Εἶπέ τις ἐξ αὐτῶν ἴδιος αὐτῶν Οὐ τὸν νηστευτὴν ἐνταῦθα λέγει, ἀλλὰ τὸν πάθους κρατοῦντα παντός. Προφήτης· Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί. Ἡ μαρτυρία αὕτη ἐστὶν ἀληθής. ∆ι' ἣν αἰτίαν ἔλεγχε αὐτοὺς ἀποτόμως, ἵνα ὑγιαίνωσιν ἐν τῇ πίστει, μὴ προσέχοντες Ἰουδαϊκοῖς μύθοις, καὶ ἐντολαῖς ἀνθρώπων ἀποστρεφομένων τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Πάντα μὲν καθαρὰ τοῖς Προφήτην, ἐνταῦθα τὸν ποιητὴν λέγει, τὸν Καλλίμαχον. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ αὐτοῦ; ὅτι μάλιστα τούτοις ἐντρέπομεν αὐτοὺς, ὅταν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐνέγκωμεν τὰς κατηγορίας. Καθαροῖς· τοῖς δὲ μεμιασμένοις καὶ ἀπίστοις οὐδὲν καθαρὸν, ἀλλὰ μεμίανται αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁ νοῦς, καὶ ἡ συνείδησις· Θεὸν ὁμολογοῦσιν εἰδέναι, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνοῦνται. Βδελυκτοὶ ὄντες, καὶ ἀπειθεῖς, καὶ πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἀδόκιμοι.
ΚΕΦΑΛ. Βʹ. Σὺ δὲ λάλει ἃ πρέπει τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ διδασκαλίᾳ. Πρεσβύτας νηφαλέους εἶναι,
σεμνοὺς, σώφρονας τῇ πίστει, τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ὑπομονῇ. Πρεσβύτιδας ὡσαύτως, ἐν καταστήματι ἱεροπρεπεῖς, μὴ διαβόλους, μὴ οἴνῳ πολλῷ δεδουλωμένας, καλοδιδασκάλους, ἵνα σωφρονίζωσι τὰς νέας φιλάνδρους εἶναι, φιλοτέκνους, σώφρονας, ἁγνὰς, οἰκουροὺς, ἀγαθὰς, ὑποτασσομένας τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν. Οὐ παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν τῶν μεταλαμβανόντων. Ἵνα μὴ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ βλασφημῆται. Τοὺς νεωτέρους ὡσαύτως παρακάλει σωφρονεῖν. Περὶ πάντας ἑαυτὸν παρεχόμενος τύπον καλῶν ἔργων, ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ, ἀφθορίαν, σεμνότητα, λόγον ὑγιῆ, ἀκατάγνωστον· ἵνα ὁ ἐξ ἐναντίας ἐντραπῇ, μηδὲν ἔχων περὶ ἡμῶν λέγειν φαῦλον. ∆ούλους ἰδίοις δεσπόταις ὑποτάσσεσθαι ἐν πᾶσιν, εὐαρέστους εἶναι, μὴ ἀντιλέγοντας, μηδὲ νοσφιζομένους, ἀλλὰ πίστιν πᾶσαν ἐπιδεικνυμένους ἀγαθὴν, ἵνα τὴν διδασκαλίαν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ κοσμῶσιν ἐν πᾶσιν. Ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ σωτήριος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς, ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν, καὶ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας, σωφρόνως καὶ δικαίως, καὶ