The island of Crete and its shrines. Titus, the apostle Saint tito greece who is he
Apostle from 70 Titus was a native of the island of Crete, the son of noble pagans. In his youth, he carefully studied Hellenic philosophy and ancient poets. Being engaged in sciences, Titus led a virtuous life, not indulging in the vices and passions characteristic of most pagans. He kept virginity, as testified of him (Comm. 20 December). For such a life, the Lord did not leave him without His help. At the age of twenty, Saint Titus heard in a dream a voice that inspired him to leave the Hellenic wisdom, which does not give salvation to the soul, but to seek the one that saves. After this dream, Saint Titus waited another year to see if he would receive another such command, and, indeed, he was directed to familiarize himself with the teachings of God's prophets. The first thing he happened to read was the book of the prophet Isaiah. Opening it at chapter 47, he was struck by the words spoken as if about his own spiritual state.
When a rumor reached Crete about the appearance of the Great Prophet in Palestine and about the miracles performed by Him, the ruler of the island of Crete, Titus' uncle, sent him there. This Prophet was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who was incarnated from the Blessed Virgin Mary and came into the world to redeem the human race from the original sin that weighed upon it. Saint Titus in Jerusalem saw the Lord; listened to His preaching and believed in Him. He witnessed the suffering on the Cross and the death of the Savior, His glorious Resurrection and Ascension to Heaven. On the day of Pentecost, the future apostle heard, standing among the people, how the 12 apostles, after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, spoke different languages, including in the language of the Cretans (). Saint Titus received Baptism from and became his closest disciple. He accompanied the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys, repeatedly carried out his assignments concerning the newly built Churches, and was with him in Jerusalem. Saint Titus was numbered among the 70 apostles and ordained by the apostle Paul to the bishop of Crete. Around the year 65, shortly before the second imprisonment, the apostle Paul sent a pastoral message to his chosen one (). When the Apostle Paul, as a prisoner, was brought to Rome to be judged by Caesar, Saint Titus temporarily left his Cretan flock and went to Rome to minister to his spiritual father. After the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Titus returned to the main city of Brita - Gortyn.
The Apostle Titus wisely led his flock and worked to enlighten the pagans with the light of the faith of Christ. He was given the gift of miracles from the Lord. During one of the pagan holidays in honor of the goddess Diana, Titus preached to the pagans gathered in a multitude. When he saw that they did not listen to him, he prayed to the Lord that the Lord Himself would show the erring people the worthlessness of idols. Through the prayer of the Apostle Titus, the idol of Diana fell and broke in front of everyone. Another time, the Apostle Titus prayed that the Lord would not allow the completion of the construction of the pagan temple erected in honor of Zeus, and it collapsed. By such miracles, the Apostle Titus led many to faith in Christ. Having enlightened the surrounding countries with the light of faith, the Apostle Titus died peacefully at the ripe old age of 94 years. Before his death, his face shone like the sun.
Crete is mountainous. The highest peak is Timios Stavros, which means the Holy Cross. The mountain rises to two and a half thousand meters above sea level. There are other mountains as well. They have steep slopes and are deeply dissected by gorges. There are many caves in Crete.
The temperate Mediterranean climate reigns throughout Crete. This means that winters are rainy here, and summers are hot and dry. Although there are slight differences between coastal and mountainous areas. Sometimes winter in the mountainous part of the island can be accompanied by heavy snowfalls - such that snow does not melt on the tops of the mountains until June.
Crete is one of the most popular European resorts.
The island has a rich history. In ancient times, Crete was the center of the Minoan civilization. It flourished on the island from about 2600 to 1400 BC. The Minoan civilization is considered the oldest in Europe. This civilization is named after King Minos, who kept the bull-man Minotaur in the labyrinth built by the legendary Daedalus. But this, of course, is a myth. But the end of the Minoan culture was real and very tragic. Around the middle of the second millennium BC, the Santorini volcano erupted on the island of Thira, located 130 kilometers north of Crete. As a result of an explosion with a capacity of approximately 200,200 thousand Hiroshima, several tens of cubic kilometers of rock were ejected, volcanic ash covered all the fields in Crete and put an end to agriculture, and coastal cities and villages were washed away by a giant tsunami wave. Before the eruption of the Santorini volcano, about a million people lived on Crete. Thus, the population of Crete has not yet reached the number that it was before the disaster.
The first millennium before the birth of Christ is the time of domination of the Dorian culture in Crete. Shortly before the coming of the Savior into the world, Crete was in the power of the Romans and became part of the province of Crete and Cyrenaica.
As we can see, the history of Crete is rich in heroic and tragic events, but the history of Christianity on this island is of particular interest to us.
The news of Christ sounded in Crete already in the first century and is associated with the name of Titus, the apostle of the seventy, a disciple of the apostle Paul. The exact time of Titus's conversion to Christ is unknown, but already in the year 49 he accompanies Paul and Barnabas to the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem. From the Holy Scriptures we know that Titus fulfills the instructions of his mentor, establishing local churches in the faith. After liberation from the first Roman bonds, Paul appoints Titus Bishop of Crete. And after that, the Apostle of tongues did not leave his disciple and supported him: among the books of the New Testament is the letter of the Apostle Paul to Titus. “The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy wombs,” the Apostle Paul reminds Titus in his epistle. And then teaches what to do. The Apostle Titus fulfilled his mandate, founded nine dioceses in Crete, died at a ripe old age and was buried in the city of Gortyna (there was then the administrative center of the island). In the VI century, a majestic basilica was erected in honor of the first bishop and patron of Crete, the Apostle Titus. His holy relics were kept here. After the devastation of the island by the Saracens in the 9th century, only one chapter remained from the relics of the Apostle Titus, which is stored in the new capital of the island - Heraklion, in the temple of his name.
The primate of the Cretan Church bore the title of archbishop. During the Byzantine period, from 12 to 20 bishops were subordinate to him.
Speaking of the saints of Crete, it is necessary to mention Andrew, one of the outstanding church hymnographers, the author of the Great Penitential Canon. During the reign of Emperor Justinian II, he was ordained archbishop of the city of Gortyn. The sermons of Andrew of Crete are distinguished by their high style and harmonious phrase, which allows us to speak of him as one of the outstanding church orators of the Byzantine era. Saint Andrew led the Cretan Church until his death in 740.
In 767, under Emperor Constantine Copronymus, a separate theme (military-administrative district) of Crete was formed as part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). However, the Arab expansion had already begun, and soon, in 824, the Muslims captured the island and the Emirate of Crete was formed.
The 135-year period of Arab rule was a difficult test for the Cretan Church.
The Cretan emirate existed until 961, when the talented commander Nicephorus Foka, the future emperor, returned the island to Byzantium.
After the expulsion of the Arabs from Crete by the Byzantine commander Nicephorus Foka, the second period of the heyday of political and religious life began on the island.
As a result of the Fourth Crusade, which ended in disaster for Byzantium, Crete was initially allocated to Boniface of Montferrat. But Boniface, unable to manage the island, sold it to Venice for a thousand silver marks. In the same 1204, Crete was conquered by Genoa, but in 1205 the Venetian troops occupied the island, and for several centuries it was under the control of Venice.
With the beginning of the Venetian rule, the most difficult times came for Orthodoxy. The Venetian authorities supplied Latin bishops. Orthodox archbishops were forced to live outside of Crete. Orthodoxy in Crete in these difficult times is supported by numerous Orthodox monasteries, active abbots and learned monks, as well as the clergy of cities and villages.
In the 17th century, Muslims renewed their attempts to capture the island. The last Venetian fortresses capitulated in 1715. The island is under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Until the end of the 19th century, the vilayet of Crete existed. The church during this period receives relative freedom.
A new period in the history of the Cretan Church begins after the liberation of the island and the proclamation of an independent Cretan state in 1898. In 1908, the island became de facto part of the Greek kingdom, and the formal accession took place five years later. However, the Cretan Church did not become part of the Greek Church, but remained under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In 1962, the dioceses of the Cretan Church were elevated in status to metropolitanates, and in 1965 the Church received semi-autonomy. The Archdiocese of Crete includes eight metropolias. Since February 28, 1967, the primates of the Cretan Church have had the title of archbishop. In the Churches of the Greek tradition, the rank of archbishop is higher than the rank of metropolitan.
The Cretan Church owns a number of church educational institutions: the Higher Church School in Heraklion and the Orthodox Academy of Crete, as well as a seminary in Chania. The Cretan Church publishes the magazine "Titus the Apostle".
The current head of the Cretan Church is the 82-year-old Archbishop Irenaeus (Athanasiadis), who was elected to this post in 2006.
Now there are about 700 temples, monasteries and chapels on the island of Crete. Of the hundred existing monasteries, twenty-five are active. There are many nuns in the women's quarters, up to sixty people, and there are few monks in the men's quarters - only three or four people. The oldest temples of Crete have survived from the time of the Byzantine Empire. Temples and monasteries were built, destroyed by enemies and natural disasters, restored and built again. Numerous shrines are scattered throughout the island.
A significant part of the shrines of Crete is located in Heraklion. Let's start with the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Crete, named after the holy Apostle Titus. It was built by order of Nicephorus Foki, who liberated the island from the Saracens, to replace the temple in Gortyn destroyed by the Muslims. During the period of Venetian domination, the cathedral was the cathedral church of the Catholic archbishop. During the Turkish rule, the temple building was converted into a mosque. After the Turkish minority left Crete in 1923, the cathedral was again consecrated as an Orthodox church, and the minaret was converted into a bell tower. The fact that the temple passed from hand to hand determined the uniqueness of its architecture. In 1966, the head of the Holy Apostle Titus was returned from Venice to Crete, which had been taken to Italy shortly before the conquest of the town by the Turks. Currently, the relics of the apostle are stored in the cathedral to the left of the entrance.
Note the Cathedral of St. Mina, standing on St. Catherine's Square. Mina was from Egypt, served in the Roman army and suffered for Christ during the persecution of Diocletian. In the future, he appeared in different areas as a rider and saved people. In 1735 a small church was built in the name of this saint. When, as a result of the struggle of the Greek people for independence, the Turks pursued a policy of terror against Christians, a miraculous event took place. One day in 1826, the Turks were going to destroy the Christians who had gathered in the square in front of the temple, but a rider on a white horse appeared and ordered the Turks to disperse. The Turks obeyed, mistaking the rider for a Turkish officer, but later it turned out that it was someone else. Christians believed that it was Saint Mina who saved them. Since then, the Egyptian, a former Roman officer, became the patron of the city of Heraklion. In gratitude to the saint, a cathedral was built, consecrated in 1895. The patronage of the saint also manifested itself in the 20th century during World War II, when the Germans and Italians carried out an operation to capture Greece. On May 23, 1941, a bomb that fell on the roof of the cathedral did not explode. In memory of this event, a model of this bomb is located near the northern wall of the cathedral.
Next to the Cathedral of St. Mina stands a church in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. It was built in 1555 and is an example of a mixture of Byzantine and Venetian architecture. In the middle of the 16th century, the church was the courtyard of the Sinai monastery of St. Catherine. During the invasion of the Turks, the temple was turned into a mosque. Currently, the temple houses a museum collection of church art, which stores icons and frescoes of Michael Damaskinos, an outstanding representative of the Cretan icon painting school.
There are shrines not only in the capital of the island, but also in its environs. 20 kilometers south of Heraklion is the convent of Panagia Paliani. This is one of the oldest monasteries on the island. The subject of interest of pilgrims is the myrtle tree growing on the territory of the monastery. According to legend, the icon of the Mother of God is hidden in its branches, which only the righteous can see, and prayer in front of the myrtle tree heals women from infertility.
Another nunnery in Heraklion Nome "Panagia Kaliviani" is located in the town of Messara. During the Byzantine Empire, this monastery was for men. Since the XIV century, a temple dedicated to the miraculous image has been preserved here. Holy Mother of God"Life-Giving Source". This icon is revered in the monastery as the main shrine. The relics of the monk-martyrs who suffered for their faith during the Turkish rule were found in the monastery. The relics were immured in the wall of the monastery chapel. The miracles performed from the relics of the martyrs are carefully recorded by the sisters of the monastery. The monastery currently has about 50 nuns. The monastery is traditionally engaged in charity work. The nuns care for the girls' shelter and the women's nursing home.
30 kilometers south of the capital of the island is the monastery of St. George. It was founded in 1614 by order of the Great Martyr George. The saint appeared in a vision to the future founder of the monastery, the monk Paisios, and instructed him to build a monastery on this site. Three times in its history the monastery was destroyed, but recreated anew. In the altar of the monastery cathedral of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, a part of his holy relics and particles of the relics of the Great Martyr Healer Panteleimon, Saints Catherine, Anastasia the Solver and Martyr Tryphon are kept. History has preserved evidence of a miracle that took place through prayers to St. George. During a drought, a source of water gushed out of the ground here, which has not been impoverished to this day. The monastery served as a refuge for many Cretans during the Turkish domination and German occupation. A museum of history has been created in the monastery, which contains unique exhibits - personal belongings of monks, old books and vestments.
In the east of the island is the prefecture of Lasithi. Here is the convent of Kera Kardiotissa. Its history dates back to the 13th century. The church, decorated with frescoes and icons, has survived to this day. The main shrine is the icon of the Mother of God, which holds the baby on her left hand, which is why it is called Kardiotissa (Heart). The history of this shrine is interesting. The Turks, who owned Crete for a long time, took this icon to Constantinople three times, but it miraculously returned. Then they chained her to a marble column, and she again appeared in the monastery along with the column and the chain. The column stands in the courtyard, and the chain is near the icon, on the iconostasis.
Toplou Monastery is located in Lasithi Prefecture. Its other name is the monastery of the Holy Mother of God "Akrotiriani". There is a museum of icons in the monastery, which stores the works of icon painters of the 16th-18th centuries.
To the west of Heraklion is the region of Rethymni. Of the shrines of this region, we note the monastery of Arcadia. There are different points of view on the origin of this name: it is the name of either the founder of the monastery, or the emperor, during whose reign the monastery was founded. This shrine of Crete is a true symbol of freedom, since in the 19th century the monastery played an important role in the uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Now the monastery, whose architecture includes baroque elements, is a quiet peaceful place. You can feel the complex history of the temple in the museum, which has preserved valuable relics and ancient icons.
The ancient shrine of this area is the Monastery of Preveli. This monastery is stavropegial and is subordinated directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Its history dates back to the 14th century. The monastery consists of two parts. The lower part is dedicated to John the Baptist and has now been turned into a museum. The upper one - to the Apostle John the Theologian. On the territory of the monastery there is a holy spring, which quenches the thirst of the monks and guests of the monastery. One of the main shrines of the monastery is the cross brought by hegumen Ephraim Prevelis from Constantinople in the 18th century. Historical documents describe many miracles from the shrine. For example, when the Germans occupied Crete in 1941, they plundered the monastery. They also took the cross. They decided to send it to Athens by plane and sell it there, but the plane could not take off. Then the cross was transferred to another plane, but it did not take off either. The Germans realized that the cross had miraculous power, got scared and returned it to the monastery.
Chania is the westernmost part of Crete. 15 km from the administrative center of the nome on the peninsula of Akrotiri is the stavropegic monastery of the Holy Trinity. It was built in 1632 by Venetian Orthodox monks Lawrence and Jeremiah. Its architecture combines Doric and Renaissance styles. It is noteworthy that it was the only monastery that operated freely during the Turkish domination, as it could afford to pay tribute. A theological seminary has been functioning here since 1892.
Not far from the Trinity Monastery is the monastery of Gouverneto. Another name for it is the Lady of the Angels. The monastery was built in 1537 and looks like a castle with towers that were used to protect against invaders. Appearance the monastery speaks of a strong Venetian influence.
Another notable monastery in this area is the monastery of the Holy Mother of God “Chrysokalitissa”. It is located on a rock, to which a long staircase leads. According to legend, one of the steps of this staircase was golden, which gave the name to the monastery. The date of construction of the monastery is unknown, but judging by the architecture, the temple was built in Venetian times.
The story about the monasteries, temples and other shrines of Crete can be continued for a very long time. They are clear evidence of how and under what conditions Christianity carried out its saving mission for two millennia.
Evgeny CHETVERYAKOV
Photo by Metropolitan Tikhon
Saint Titus
The Holy Apostle Titus was born on the island of Crete to noble parents descended from the family of the kings of Crete. His parents were idolaters and raised their son in the pagan faith. Titus diligently studied Greek philosophy and Greek poets, and from a young age showed an extraordinary love for reasoning. Although he did not know the true God, he led a virtuous life, was gentle and chastely kept the virgin purity of his body. Therefore, Titus became pleasing to God with his good deeds. When he was twenty years old, he heard a voice from heaven: "Titus, you must go away from here and save your soul: Greek teaching will not lead you to salvation." Titus did not believe this voice and wanted to hear confirmation. Therefore, in a dream, he was commanded by God to read Jewish books. He began reading them from the prophet Isaiah and, opening the book to chapter 41, saw words in it that seemed to refer to him. You are my slave, he read, I have chosen you, and I will not reject you. Fear not, for I am with you; do not be embarrassed, for I am your God(Isaiah 41:9-10). Then at the end of the chapter he read about the worthlessness of idols. These words and other prophecies in the book served as the key that opened his mind to the knowledge of the one true God - and Titus was kindled with love for the God revered by the Jews. At that time, a rumor spread throughout the island of Crete that Christ God was incarnate, that he lives among the people in Jerusalem and works amazing and inexpressible miracles. The ruler of Crete, Titus's maternal uncle, having consulted with the commanding officials subordinate to him, decided to send Titus to Jerusalem as a prudent and wise man, so that he could make sure whether these rumors were true. Arriving in Jerusalem, Titus was able to see the Lord Jesus Christ with his own eyes and, together with the people, followed Him, was an eyewitness of the miracles He performed, was present at His saving suffering and was convinced of His resurrection. After the ascension of Christ to heaven, when on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and they began to speak in various dialects, Titus, among other Cretans, marveled at this, hearing that the apostles also spoke in the Cretan language about the greatness of God. Titus proclaimed and preached about all this in his fatherland, on the island of Crete.
Having believed in Christ, St. Titus from that time was constantly with the apostles and subsequently received Baptism from the holy Apostle Paul. This happened when, with the Baptism of Cornelius the centurion, the door of the faith of Christ was opened for the pagans and those converting from the pagans, the apostles did not force them to undergo the Old Testament circumcision, which Titus considered difficult for himself. Having received Holy Baptism, Titus was numbered among the seventy apostles and sent with the holy Apostle Paul to preach the faith of Christ to the pagans. The great apostle of tongues sincerely loved Titus, who shared with him the labors of preaching the gospel. St. Titus followed him not as a student after a teacher, but as a beloved son after a father. And in his Epistles, the Apostle Paul calls him either his child or his brother (see Tit. 1:4; 2 Cor. 2:13). The Apostle Paul sent Titus to Dalmatia to preach Christianity (see: 2 Tim. 4, 10), instructed him to take his Epistle to the Corinthians (see: 2 Cor. 12, 18). He mourned in separation from Titus and rejoiced when they were together (see: 2 Cor. 2, 12-13). When the Apostle Paul, having visited Crete, converted many to Christ there, he appointed Titus the bishop of the newly founded Church, and he himself went to preach Christ to the pagans in other countries. From the Macedonian city of Nicopolis, Saint Paul wrote an Epistle to Titus, in which he taught him how he should govern the Church. Intending to stay in Nikopol during the winter, the Apostle Paul called Saint Titus there (see: Titus 1, I). When later the holy Apostle Paul was taken into custody in Jerusalem and sent in chains to Rome, Titus, hearing about this, hurried there to be a witness to the suffering feat of his teacher. The Apostle Titus remained in Rome until the very death of the apostle, and when Saint Paul was executed, he committed his honorable body to his burial. After that, he returned to the island of Crete to his flock and continued to work tirelessly in preaching the gospel, converting Greek idolaters to Christ, teaching them and convincing them with miracles. In one place, with a prayer, he scattered the idol of the goddess Artemis into dust, and thanks to this miracle, five hundred people were converted to Christ in one day. On another occasion, when a large idol temple was being built on the island by royal command, the holy apostle Titus, walking by, prayed to the Lord, and the temple suddenly fell. Struck by this miracle, the pagans turned to Christ in multitudes, and on the site of the pagan temple a church was built in the name of the Lord. Thus the holy Apostle Titus enlightened the island of Crete and the surrounding countries with the light of the holy faith, and died peacefully at a ripe old age, being ninety-four years old. At his death, he was honored to see the holy angels who came to take his soul, and his face shone like the sun, as a sign that his whole life was the light of the world.
The holy body of the Apostle Titus rested in the cathedral church in Hartig, the city of Crete, in which the saint lived. After the devastation of the island of Crete by the Saracens in 823, only one head remained of his relics, which, according to one information, was then transferred to Venice, to the church of St. Mark; but according to other reports, the head of the Apostle Titus is kept in his temple on the island of Crete itself.
He was converted to Christianity by the holy Apostle Paul, who calls him "a true son according to the common faith" (Titus 1:4). A few years later, around the year 49, they met again in Antioch. Paul took him and Barnabas with him to Jerusalem to report to the apostles on his missionary work among the Gentiles. Convinced by Paul's arguments for exemption from the precepts of the Law, the members of this first Council did not press for the circumcision of Titus.
From that time on, he accompanied the apostle on missionary journeys and became one of his closest collaborators. It was Titus that Paul sent to Corinth to take the First Epistle and explain how the collection of offerings for the brethren in Jerusalem should be organized.
After Titus left the city to tell Paul about the results of his trip, serious divisions divided the Christians of Corinth. Paul, who was in Ephesus (c. 55), then delivered to Titus an epistle written "out of great affliction and a troubled heart" (2 Cor. 2:4) to correct these discords. Saint Titus was received with fear and trembling as the bearer of apostolic authority. After restoring his decency and love, he rejoined his teacher in Macedonia to tell with joy the obedience shown by the Corinthians (see: 2 Corinthians 7:15). Again, Paul sends Titus to this city, along with two companions, instructing them to deliver his Second Epistle to the Corinthians and receive the fruits of their offerings.
Titus was with the holy Apostle Paul in Rome during his first imprisonment and accompanied him on his return trip to the East. Landing on the island of Crete, they preached the Good News together in many cities. Paul, who was supposed to continue sailing, left Titus to complete the organization of the new Church (c. 63) and for this to appoint a bishop in each city (see: Titus 1: 5-7). Titus met with strong opposition, especially from the Jews, and wrote to Paul. He, in his answer, encourages Titus to teach everything that is in accordance with “sound doctrine” (Titus 2: 1), and set an example by his behavior, and “in teaching, purity, gravity, integrity, a word of sound, unreproachable”, so that his opponents , the distributors of "Jewish fables ... turning away from the truth", could not say anything bad about the disciples of Christ, being filled with confusion (see: Titus 2: 7-8 and 1: 14).
This letter informed him to be ready to join Paul at Nicopolis (see Tit 3:12). From there, about the year 65, Titus was sent on a new assignment to Dalmatia (see: 2 Tim. 4:10).
After the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul, Titus returned to Crete, which he ruled wisely and in a pastoral zeal until old age. The Holy Apostle Titus reposed in peace, and his body was laid in the main temple of the city of Gortyn, where his pulpit was located. There he was revered for many centuries as the protector of the Cretan Church.
When the island was liberated from the Arab invaders, the capital was transferred to Candia, and a new cathedral was built there in the name of St. Titus. This church remained the main place of pilgrimage in Crete throughout the reign of the Venetians (1210–1669). Expelled from the island by the Turks, they took with them the head of the Apostle Titus and laid it in the church of San Marco. This precious relic was returned to the Cretan Church on May 12, 1966.
According to another church tradition, the apostle Titus was a distant descendant of the Cretan king Minos and from his youth showed a keen interest in pagan sciences. When he was 20 years old, he heard a voice from heaven saying to him: "Titus, you need to leave this place and go to Jerusalem to find the salvation of your soul, because pagan wisdom cannot bring anything useful." Fearing, however, that this voice would not come from demons in order to plunge him into obsession, he continued to study pagan sciences. After nine years, he had a new vision during which he was instructed to read the Jewish books. Titus opened the book of Isaiah and saw the following words: “Renew to me, islanders. Israel is saved from the Lord with eternal salvation” (Isaiah 45:16-17).
The proconsul and governor of Crete, who was Titus' uncle, heard the miracles performed by Jesus in Jerusalem and all over Palestine praised. Then he decided, after consulting with the nobility of the island, to send his nephew to these parts in order to obtain more complete information about this. Arriving in Jerusalem, Titus saw the Lord and the miracles that He performed, and became a witness of His life-giving Passion, His Resurrection and His Ascension. He was even, according to legend, among the disciples on whom the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost.
Titus was ordained a presbyter by the apostles and sent with a commission along with the apostle Paul. Together they came to Antioch, then to the region of Seleucia, and thence to Cyprus. From Salamis they went to Perga in Pamphylia, Pisidian Antioch and Iconium (see: Acts 13:4-6, 13-14, 51), then they continued preaching in Lystra and Derbe, undergoing persecution and ill-treatment during all their missionary journeys. .
Arriving in Crete, they were received by the ruler of the island, Rustill, who was the brother-in-law of Titus. He tried to convince them not to preach against the pagan gods, but to no avail. A short time later, Saint Paul resurrected the magistrate's son, who had just died, with a prayer. Since that time, Rustill showed honor to the missionaries, showed them respect and allowed the Good News to be distributed on the island.
But three months later, Rustille was summoned to Rome and appointed consul. Then the Jews began to annoy the nascent Christian community with empty lying speeches, not daring, however, to speak directly against the apostles, who were under the protection of a high-ranking person.
Leaving the island of Crete to go to Ephesus, where he turned big number Gentiles, Paul sent Titus, Timothy, and Erast to Corinth. Titus helped the great apostle until his death.
Then he took part in the establishment of missionary activity in Greece and Colossae, after which he went to his homeland to continue preaching the Gospel. Titus was received with jubilation by the inhabitants of Crete, but soon learned that they had retained pagan customs. Then the apostle threw the statue of Artemis to the ground in the name of Jesus Christ. In the face of this miracle, more than five hundred pagans cried out: "Great is the God whom Titus preaches!" and believed in Christ. St. Titus, having established the seat of the episcopal see in Gortyn, appointed nine new bishops for the main cities of Crete. He affirmed the true faith both by word and by miracles.
When the apostle was 94 years old, his death hour approached. The bishop's dwelling was suddenly filled with a fragrant cloud, and many angels appeared to help him. With a face shining like the sun, St. Titus surrendered his spirit to God, saying these words: “Lord, I kept the faith and established Your people in Your fear. Receive my spirit now!" As his body, clad in white, was being carried to burial, the pagan temples collapsed. Subsequently, many obsessed people were healed at his grave.
Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetra,
adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery Publishing House
The Apostle Titus wisely led his flock and worked to enlighten the pagans with the light of the faith of Christ. He was given the gift of miracles from the Lord. During one of the pagan holidays in honor of the goddess Diana, Titus preached to the pagans gathered in a multitude. When he saw that they did not listen to him, he prayed to the Lord that the Lord Himself would show the erring people the worthlessness of idols. Through the prayer of the Apostle Titus, the idol of Diana fell and broke in front of everyone. Another time, the Apostle Titus prayed that the Lord would not allow the completion of the construction of the pagan temple erected in honor of Zeus, and it collapsed. By such miracles, the Apostle Titus led many to faith in Christ.
Having enlightened the surrounding countries with the light of faith, the Apostle Titus died peacefully at the ripe old age of 94 years. Before his death, his face shone like the sun.
Relics and veneration
Prayers
Kontakion, tone 2 (Like: Seeking the Highest:)
Pavlov appeared as an interlocutor, an apostle, / with him you foreshadowed the word of Divine grace, / secretly speaking to Tita of ever-memorable. / For this sake, we cry out // do not stop praying for all of us.