Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa (full name Emmanuel Mobiyina Friday Adebowale Abiodun vihan Oshoffa, born 25 December 1948) is the pastor and spiritual head of the

Celestial Church of Christ The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) is a church founded in Africa by Samuel Oshoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. It is located in most countries worldwide including the United States and various countries in Africa. History Osho ...

(CCC). Although Emmanuel Oshoffa controls the overwhelming fraction of the church, and the Holy Pilgrimage city in Imeko where the founder, his father, was buried, a rival faction considers Beni Omoge, ostensibly the successor to Maforikan Surulere to be the leader of their own faction . Oshoffa was installed as head of the CCC in December 2002. as successor to pastor

Philip Hunsu Ajose Philip Hunsu Ajose (10 August 1932 - 2 March 2001) was the third Pastor of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), succeeding Alexander Abiodun Adebayo Bada on 2 October 2000 and being formally declared leader on 24 December 2000. Shortly after being ...

, who died in March 2001. Mobiyina Oshoffa is the first son of the Pastor Founder (Late Reverend Prophet Samuel Bilewou Joseph Oshoffa) and he is the pastor of the major faction of Celestial Church of Christ, worldwide. Oshoffa was born in 1948 at Kpave,

French Dahomey French Dahomey was a French colony and part of French West Africa from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of the French Union with an increased autonomy. On 4 Octob ...

(now

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

), and he has been part of the choir at Port Novo church before his migration to France. As instructed by his father, only him and First Shadrach hospital management knew about the whereabouts of the founder of the church for over twenty-four hours following the accident of September 1985. He was therefore in position to give some account of the prophet's final moments. Oshoffa attended university in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, earning his bachelor's degree in animal biological science in 1976 and a master's degree from the University of Biological Science,

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

in 1977. The Diocese of France and the Overseas Départements and Territories largely founded by Ivory Coast Celestial Christians and frequented by many West Indians, among others; since 1986 has been led by Emmanuel Oschoffa. He was appointed head of the CCC Diocese of France by predecessor, Reverend Abiodun Bada in 1997. Other sources state 1987. In 1989, Emmanuel Oshoffa baptized the congolese doctor and Catholic, Malela, who had come to Paris for a surgical operation, hence starting the church at

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

. In December 2002, while preparing to travel to Port-Novo from France, he was called to Imeko to pastor the church.

References

Living people 1948 births 20th-century Christian clergy 20th-century Beninese people Beninese clergy Beninese emigrants to France {{Benin-bio-stub