Did early Christian church leaders and political rulers share common characteristics? By reading the First Epistle to Timothy through the lens of Greek and Roman “mirrors for princes” (specula principum) written in the first and early second centuries AD, this article intends to make a new contribution to this issue. The study’s interpretative focus lies on the idealized depiction of Timothy as a role model for early Christian officeholders as well as on the qualifications for bishops and deacons (1 Tim 3:1–13). The comparison of the features of the ideal ruler with those of ideal church leaders shows that central elements of the ecclesiology of First Timothy tap into the Greco-Roman discourse concerning ideal rulership. Yet not only that, it also helps to understand that the power that is undeniably attributed to officeholders is ultimately meant to be a soft power that serves the cause of “preservation” and “salvation” (σωτηρία).

早期的基督教会领袖和政治统治者是否具有共同特征？通过希腊和罗马“王子的镜子”的镜头读到提摩太的第一封信（specula principum）写于公元一世纪和第二世纪初，这篇文章旨在为这个问题做出新的贡献。该研究的解释重点在于提摩太理想化地描绘早期基督徒公职人员的榜样，以及主教和执事的资格（提姆书3：1-13）。将理想统治者的特征与理想教会领袖的特征进行比较，可以看出，第一提摩太教会教会学的核心要素进入了关于理想统治者的希腊罗马话语中。不仅如此，这还有助于理解，无可否认地归于办公人员的权力最终意味着它是一种软权力，可以服务于“保存”和“救赎”（σωτηρία）的原因。