Paul Suru Maforikan was appointed Pastor and spiritual leader 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 ...
following the death of
Gilbert Oluwatosin Jesse Gilbert Oluwatosin Jesse (17 May 1937 – 7 October 2003) was a factional Pastor and Spiritual Head of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) from 30 December 2002 until his death.
He succeeded Philip Hunsu Ajose, who had died on 2 March 2001.
There ...
in October 2003.
Early years
Maforikan was born on 19 September 1930 in
Ajase
Porto-Novo ( Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...
, Benin, where his father had moved from
Badagry
Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...
, Nigeria.
He was a member of
Christ Apostolic Church Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is the first Aladura Pentecostal church present in Nigeria and other countries. It arose in the first half of the 20th century, in the then-British empire. It was formally established in 1941 after a split from the Ap ...
before joining the Celestial Church Of Christ in 1948 shortly after its foundation.
He followed the Pastor Founder
S.B.J. Oschoffa to Nigeria.
He was
Oyo State
Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...
Evangelist for 10 years before being appointed a Deputy Pastor in December 2002.
He was proclaimed Pastor of the Celestial Church Of Christ Worldwide within two days of the death Gilbert Jesse.
[
His appointment was made by the council of superiors of CCC Worldwide.][
He took up this position at a time when the CCC had split into four factions. The others were led by Rev pastor st Agbaosi of Porto Novo in Benin, and in Lagos by Superior Evangelist Josiah Kayode Owudunni of Ijeshatedo Parish and by Pastor Emmanuel Oschoffa who was chosen by members of the Board of Trustees.
]
Leadership disputes
In an attempt to resolve the dispute over church leadership, in March 2005 Pastors Moforikan and Oshoffa met with other church leaders in Porto-Novo
Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...
, Benin home of the founder of the church. They agreed to hold a further meeting two weeks later with eleven delegates from each side to take every possible measure to resolve the issue.[
In November 2005 Iepe Asebiomo, leader of the ''Unification and Renaissance Mission of the Celestial Church of Christ'', noted the growing number of factions with heads claiming to be CCC pastor. These included Daniel B. Agbaosi of ]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 in Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
, Nigeria Paul Maforikan in Tejuosho, Emmanuel Oshoffa in Ketu, Josiah Owodunni in Ijeshatedo and Edward Oladokun in Ikorodu. US-based Bolanle Shonekan was also a claimant. Yet others had formed separate churches.
In November 2006 pastor Jacob Ediémou Blin laid a complaint with the prosecutor in Côte d'Ivoire against Moforikan for usurpation of title.
Later that month church officials expressed shock when Blin said at Port-Bouet that the CCC was all his private property. This brought the number of factions of the church up to five.
Maforikan paid a long visit to South Africa in 2008, arriving on 11 June 2008 and visiting all the parishes over the three-month period.
In an April 2009 interview in Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
, Côte d'Ivoire Maforikan said the founder "Papa" Oshoffa had prophesied in 1961 that Maforikan would be his successor. He described the disunity in the church as the work of the devil.
In April 2010 a group of leaders called the ''Celestial Church of Christ Unification and Reform Group'' petitioned the Inspector-General of Police to arrest those claiming to be pastors of the church. They said that such claims were contrary to a Supreme Court ruling that there would be no pastor in the church until it had rewritten its constitution.
The claimants were Josiah Owodunni, Paul Maforikan, Steven Orovboni, Godwin Shonekan, Emmanuel Oschoffa
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 (CCC). Although Emmanuel Oshoffa controls the overwhelming frac ...
and Edward Oladesu.
They were invited by the Lagos state police to give information to a fact finding investigation, but only Orovboni and Maforikan responded in person.
The group's secretary, Dele Ojogbede, said the self-styled pastors had been told that they would be held for contempt of court unless they dropped their claims and worked towards unity.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maforikan, Paul Suru
Living people
Nigerian religious leaders
Year of birth missing (living people)