a disciple of St. Paul, whom the Apostle often employed to carry his letters to the several churches. He was of the province of Asia, and accompanied St. Paul, when, in A.D. 58, he made his journey from Corinth to Jerusalem, Acts 20:4 . It was he that carried the epistle to the Colossians, that to the Ephesians, and the first to Timothy. St. Paul did not send him merely to carry his letters, but also to learn the state of the churches, and to bring him an account of them. Wherefore he calls him his dear brother, a faithful minister of the Lord, and his companion in the service of God, Ephesians 6:21-22; Colossians 4:7-8 . He had thoughts also of sending him into Crete, to preside over that church in the absence of Titus 3:12 .