1 Timothy 3:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

A ruler must be brighter than any lamp and lead a life beyond reproach, so that all may look to him and order their own life by his. The Apostle does not act without reason in giving such instruction. Since Timothy himself was going to appoint bishops, concerning which he also gives exhortations in the Epistle to Titus, and since many were likely to desire this rank, he gives this command on that account.

“Sober,” he says. That is, he must be clear-sighted, having a thousand eyes on every side. He must be penetrating and must not darken his intellectual vision. Indeed, there are many circumstances that prevent one from seeing clearly how matters unfold. Sorrows, cares, endless occupations, and many other things gather from every side.

Therefore the bishop must be sleeplessly watchful, caring not only for his own affairs, but also for what concerns others. He must keep vigil, be aflame in spirit, and, so to speak, breathe fire. He must bear labors and duties in greater measure than a general who goes around the army day and night. He must have care and concern for everything.

“Chaste, orderly, hospitable.” Since many of those subject to him also have such qualities, and in this respect they too must be equal to their rulers. The Apostle shows the bishop’s distinctive qualities and adds: “apt to teach.” This is no longer required of one who is subject, but it is required above all of the one to whom this office is entrusted.

In saying this, the Apostle is not laying down a law that a bishop must necessarily be married. How could the one who said, “I wish that all men were as I myself am” (1 Cor. 7:7), command this? But if, according to the circumstances of that time, this should occur, he says, let him be the husband of one wife. This was also said for the sake of the Jews, among whom polygamy was allowed.

Some groundlessly thought that the Apostle says this concerning the Church. They say that a bishop must not pass from church to church, because this is adultery.

“Sober.” That is, he must be cautious, always sleepless, attentively watchful, so as to see everything and always be ready for every needful work.

“Chaste.” That is, he must act prudently in all things.

“Orderly, honorable,” κόσμον. Two words in the Russian synodal translation correspond to one Greek word. That is, seemly and honorable.

“Hospitable.” If he is friendly, warm, and merciful only to local people, he is partial. He must be still more generous toward strangers, because this gives clearer witness to his brotherly love.

“Apt to teach.” The qualities indicated before this are also required of those subject to him, but above all they must belong to the bishop.

And what special benefit is there if this dignity is confined to one man? The Apostle knew that those subject to a ruler conform themselves to the life of their ruler, and that the virtues of the leader are assimilated by those who are with him. For as the teacher is, so the disciple also becomes.

“The husband of one wife.” The preaching was at its beginning. The Gentiles did not practice virginity. The Jews did not permit it, because they considered fertility a blessing. Therefore, since at that time it was not easy to find those who preserved bodily purity, the Apostle commands that from among those in the married state they ordain those who honored chastity.

In my opinion, “the husband of one wife” is well said. In ancient times some, both Gentiles and Jews, had the custom of living with two, three, or more wives under the law of marriage. Even now some, although imperial laws forbid having two wives at one time, live with many and have concubines.

Therefore it was said that, according to the apostolic word, one who lives chastely with only one wife is worthy of episcopal ordination. For, they say, the Apostle did not reject even second marriage, but repeatedly commanded it. Thus he says: “A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39).

Again he says: “I say to the unmarried and to the widows” (1 Cor. 7:8). Joining both together, he laid one law upon them, because second marriage in reality comes not from self-will, but for the sake of continence.

If someone abandons his first wife and is joined to another, he is worthy of reproach and subject to accusation. But if death has dissolved the union with the first wife, and the need of nature compels him to enter into union with another wife, then the second marriage occurs not by self-will, but by circumstance. Considering this and what is like it, I admit the interpretation of those who understood it this way.

“Sober,” vigilant and able to foresee how one ought to act.

“Chaste.” This is progress of the soul.

“Honorable,” dignified in speech, appearance, gaze, and gait, so that chastity of soul may be visible also in the body.

“Hospitable,” willingly receiving strangers.

“Apt to teach.” The Apostle does not mean one distinguished by eloquence, but one instructed in divine things and able to give fitting counsel.

“Hospitable.” Many among those subject to him are also distinguished by all these qualities. Therefore he adds a special quality that distinguishes the ruler in the Church from those subject to him: “apt to teach.” This is no longer required of those subject to him.

Those who have attained the episcopate must in all things present an exact image of every philosophy. Are they so loving toward strangers that they invite even poor men unknown to them into their home and entertain them? Have they so prospered in diligent exercise in instructive speech that grace from above has descended on them and given their tongue springs of spiritual words?

Thus the Apostle both approves the desire for the episcopate and terrifies those who desire it by the requirements necessary for it. It is as though he says: I praise your desire, but first learn what you desire. Otherwise, if you neglect self-examination, the more hastily you ascend to the height of spiritual honors open to all eyes, the more shameful will be the reproach of your unworthiness.

As one highly experienced in spiritual governance, the Apostle by his approval urges us to strive toward this lofty ministry. By portraying its difficulties, he restrains every haste and rashness in us.

The Apostle’s thought about how blameless a bishop’s life must be has the aim of guarding each and all from pride and self-confidence. By praising the desire for so blameless a calling, he wishes to strengthen love and inclination toward virtue in general.

It should be noted, however, that the Apostle spoke this way at a time when each head of his Church was the first victim of persecutors. Therefore, it was then praiseworthy to desire the episcopate also because it brought with it the evident danger of undergoing the severest sufferings.

With this in mind, the Apostle honored the very office of bishop with the name of a good work, saying: “If anyone desires the episcopate, he desires a good work” (1 Tim. 3:1-2; 1 Tim. 3:3-12; Tit. 1:1-9).

Thus each man may judge impartially for himself whether his desire to be a bishop has any relation to the true episcopate, if he looks on this calling not as service in a good work, but only as a means of attaining honors and glory.

The episcopal ministry is a sacred ministry. But the man who dreams only of the height of rank neither loves its holiness nor understands it at all. In the secret of his thought he delights in how others will bow before him. He magnifies himself with his own praises, breathes ambition alone, and, rejoicing beforehand at an abundance of every gain, thinks not of the weight of coming labors, but of ease and luxury amid many earthly goods.

He seeks worldly advantages in the calling that is obliged to root out every attachment to them in men. It is clear that such a man uses the most humble ministry as a means to satisfy his pride and private aims.

Within, he will not be what he appears outwardly to be. He may become not a shepherd of Christ’s sheep, but a thief and robber, not entering the sheepfold by the door, but climbing up some other way. Under the cover of pastoral clothing, like a wolf, he will seize and scatter Christ’s flock (Jn. 10:1-6).

There also, in Canon 13, the custom of the Roman Church was condemned, by which presbyters and deacons were not permitted to cohabit with their wives. Despite this condemnation, the Roman Church accepted and retained the celibacy of all who serve the altar.

The words “of one wife” may be understood in this sense: a bishop or presbyter must not have two or three wives at the same time, or a wife and a concubine, as the customs of paganism and partly of Judaism allowed. Rather, he should have only one wife, whether she is the first, second, or third, because the Apostle approved second marriage (1 Cor. 7:28, 39) and considered it evidence of continence. Blessed Theodoret explains these words in just this way.

Yet from ancient times there has been established in the Church, among the interpreters, the view that those married successively to a second or third wife after the death of the first wife are already counted as twice-married or many-married, and cannot be deemed worthy of the sacred rank. The reason is clear. For the Christian there is no death, and the deceased wife lives for him. She is only separated from him.

By this, however, second marriage is not condemned. Rather, it is shown how the Church strove to raise her pastors to a higher perfection and to set them before all as an example of continence. What she counted permissible for all, she counted impermissible for a pastor.

A mystical meaning is also given to this explanation. The bishop is an image of Christ, and as Christ is Head of the one Church, so the bishop must be the husband of one wife.

“Sober.” Sobriety means constant vigilance and attentiveness in all actions. Indeed, the one who cares not only for himself but also for what concerns others must be sleepless, keep vigil, serve, and have care and concern for everything, as Chrysostom says.

“Chaste.” This means to be master over the passionate movements of the flesh and to preserve purity of heart from impure thoughts, desires, and attachments.

“Reverent, honorable.” Reverence is an important inner quality of a pastor, since he serves the high and fearful God, before whom even the angels tremble. It consists in the awareness of one’s own deep nothingness and of the height of God’s glory, and in a feeling of fear and proper honor before God.

The honorableness spoken of here, according to the sense of the Greek word κοσμίον, means outward propriety. This must be shown in his actions as a celebrant of the Mysteries and in his dealings with the flock as a father and guide.

“Hospitable, apt to teach.” These qualities define the pastor’s relation to the flock. Hospitality, a trait fitting for all Christians, must especially have a place in the guide of Christians. Teaching, as the capacity for edification and zeal for this work, must be manifested both in the word and in the life of the pastor.

Blessed Theodoret answers that in those times it was difficult, among converted Jews and Gentiles, to find unmarried men who could worthily fulfill ecclesiastical duties, and who had the inclination and proper ability for this. Nearly all then entered marriage.

But when, with the growth and expansion of the Church of Christ, the number of virgins for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ increased (Mt. 19:11-12), bishops began to be chosen preferably from among them. Finally, this was raised into an unchangeable law by Canon 12 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council.

But does this rule still contradict the words of the Apostle Paul cited above? Not at all. They do not mean that a bishop must necessarily be married. Such an obligation is not placed even on simple and ordinary Christians. They mean only that if a bishop is married, it is fitting for him to be the husband of only one wife. That is, he must have contracted one marriage, and marriage must not be repeated for him. It is not fitting for him to be a second-married man.

Such a man ought not to command, but to obey. A ruler must be brighter than every lamp and must lead a blameless life, so that all may look upon him and order their own life according to his" (Chrysostom).

"The husband of one wife" does not mean that he must not have two wives at once, for this is forbidden to every Christian. It means that he has been married once, that he is a man of one marriage. A man married to a second wife should not be chosen as bishop.

Ambrosiaster writes: "Although having a second wife is not forbidden, one worthy of the episcopate must refrain even from what is permitted to others, because of the loftiness of this rank. The one who desires it must be incomparably above all."

Nor does this mean that he must necessarily be married. Blessed Theophylact writes: "In saying this, the Apostle does not legislate that a bishop must necessarily be married. How could the one who said, 'I wish that all men were as I myself am' command this?" (cf. 1 Cor 7:7).

To the same degree that a twice-married man is unfit for the episcopate, an unmarried man is more fit than one married once. Therefore, whenever possible, unmarried men were chosen not only as bishops, but also as priests. They served God without worldly care.

The rank of ascetics supplied such persons. It was born together with Christianity and was blessed by the Apostles and established in the Church.

But how can a bishop also be married? First, as Theodoret understands it, bishop here means presbyter. The true bishops were the secondary Apostles, such as Titus and Timothy, and they were celibate.

Probably, in other places also, persons like them were appointed to the episcopate proper. Second, necessity compelled it. Virginity had not yet become so widespread that a virgin could be found everywhere, although its foundation had been laid.

Meanwhile bishops were needed. Therefore they were chosen from those who, although married, lived in continence.

Blessed Theodoret writes: "The pagans did not practice virginity, and the Jews did not permit it, because they regarded fruitfulness as a blessing. Since at that time it was not easy to find those who preserved bodily purity, the Apostle Paul commands that those in the married state who honored chastity be ordained."

Chrysostom said even before him: "If a man bound by the bonds of marriage inevitably cares for worldly things, and a bishop must not care for worldly things, why did the Apostle say, 'the husband of one wife'?

Some think that here he points to a bishop who would be free from the bonds of marriage. If this is not what is meant, then it means that, having a wife, he can live as though he had none."

"Sober." Sobriety looks sharply over everything that happens in the soul. It gives place and movement to what is good, and rejects and drives out what is not good. Thus it governs well the course of the inner life, from which the outer life is ordered by itself.

Episcopal sobriety watches over everything that happens in his flock. It confirms what is good and corrects what is not good. The bishop watches especially sharply to see whether wolves are creeping in, not sparing the flock.

When he sees such wolves, he drives them away with the staff of his shepherdhood. He is appointed watchman over the house of God. Therefore he must vigilantly guard this house.

"He must be watchful and able to foresee how one ought to act" (blessed Theodoret). He must "be sharp-sighted, always wakeful, attentively observant, so as to see everything and always be ready for every necessary work" (blessed Theophylact).

"Sober, that is, he must be far-seeing and have a thousand eyes on every side. He must be penetrating and must darken his mental sight with nothing. There are many occurrences that do not allow one to see clearly how to act.

Therefore he must be sleeplessly watchful, caring not only for his own affairs, but also for what concerns others. He must keep vigil, burn in spirit, and, so to speak, breathe fire.

He must bear the labors and duties of his rank with greater zeal than a general who goes around the army by day and night. He must have care and concern for everything" (Chrysostom).

"Chaste." Since bodily chastity has already been mentioned in the words "the husband of one wife," here by chastity one should understand "progress of the soul" (blessed Theodoret). It means sound-mindedness, or prudence, both in his own conduct and still more in managing the affairs of the flock.

As neat clothing sits well on the whole body, with everything measured, fitting, and becoming, so affairs conducted prudently should adorn the bishop's countenance with good order. Let him be katestalmenos (see blessed Theophylact).

"Reverent, honorable." These two words correspond to the one Greek word kosmion, which blessed Theophylact interpreted as semnoprepe. Our Slavonic translation probably wished to express more fully the meaning of this latter word.

It means becomingly honorable, and shows that the bishop's appearance must shine with such sacred beauty as calls forth universal respect.

Blessed Theodoret writes: "He must be dignified in speech, appearance, gaze, and gait, so that the good order of the soul may be visible even in the body."

"Hospitable," that is, "willingly receiving strangers" (blessed Theodoret). "If he is welcoming, gracious, and merciful only to the local inhabitants, he suffers from partiality. He must be still more generous toward strangers, for this more clearly testifies to his brotherly love" (blessed Theophylact).

"Apt to teach." "Many among the subordinates also possess the qualities mentioned before this, prudence, reverence, and hospitality, as Oecumenius says. They too must be equal to their rulers in this respect.

Therefore, showing the bishop's distinctive excellence, the Apostle added, 'apt to teach.' This is no longer required of the subordinate, but it is required above all of the one to whom this office of the episcopate has been entrusted" (Chrysostom).

"By this the Apostle means not one distinguished by eloquence, but one trained in divine things and able to give proper counsel" (blessed Theophylact).

"Apt to teach," didaktikon, expresses that a bishop must be so full of teaching that, whenever the occasion arises, teaching flows like a river from his mouth.

He must always be able to fulfill, and actually fulfill, what the Apostle later wrote in the Second Epistle: "Preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching" (2 Tim 4:2).