Memorial of Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs 2025

Published: September 16, 2025

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor preached the following homily Sept. 16, 2025.

Bishop Taylor

In our first reading today St. Paul gives Timothy instruction regarding the qualities needed in a bishop or a deacon. Both are to be married only once and manage their household and their children well. Both bishops and deacons should not be drunkards or lovers of money. 

St. Paul sets the bar rather low here. They should both be dignified, not deceitful and teach the mysteries of the faith well. But for deacons, that’s apparently where it stops. Bishops are supposed to also be temperate, self-controlled, decent and hospitable, but why not deacons? Bishops are supposed to be gentle not aggressive or contentious, and have a good reputation, but why not deacons? And then we have Paul’s ambiguous statement about the women — gunaikas in Greek — which in context could refer to female deacons or wives of deacons. All that was asked of the women is that they be dignified, temperate, faithful and not slanderous gossips. What all of this has in common is that we are all called to be virtuous within our walk of life.

One troubling thing about this passage is the way St. Paul starts his presentation where he says: “Whoever aspires to the office of bishop” should have all these qualities. I think framing it this way is a bad idea, because aspiring to become bishop can feed into unhealthy ambition, which is one of the pitfalls of the clerical life. So, I would say, “have all these virtues for their own sake in the service of the Lord and forget about aspiring to climb the corporate ladder of the Church. If the Lord wants it to happen, he’ll make it happen without help from us.

By the way, years ago — before I became bishop — I heard someone say that there are really only three qualities needed in a bishop: he should not be too young, or too smart or in too good of health. Actually, the opposite is true. Bishops need the wisdom of years of pastoral experience; they need to be well educated and they need to have good health to be able to fulfill what is a strenuous task, and in that our reading from 1 Timothy is right on target.