- Paul the Apostle (Wikipedia)
Paul (also named Saul of Tarsus; c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD), commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. Generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, he founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD.
- Timothy or Timothy of Ephesus (Greek: Τιμόθεος; Timótheos, meaning “honouring God” or “honoured by God”) was an early Christian evangelist and the first Christian bishop of Ephesus, who tradition relates died around the year AD 97.
- The New Testament indicates that Timothy traveled with Paul the Apostle, who was also his mentor.
- While included in the Pauline epistles of the New Testament, First and Second Timothy are considered by many biblical scholars to be pseudoepigraphical and not written by Paul.
- Timothy’s name appears as the co-author on 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
- When Paul was in prison and awaiting martyrdom, he summoned his faithful friend Timothy for a last farewell.
- 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.