and for whom he had great love as a spiritual father. He was passing the baton, as it were, to those young pastors who were ministering in difficult situations—Timothy in the church at Ephesus and Titus in the numerous churches on the island of Crete. Both men had been carefully trained by this great apostle, both were highly gifted by the Holy Spirit, and both had proven their unflagging devotion to Paul and to the Lord’s work. Both men also faced formidable opposition, from within and from without