Philip Hunsu Ajose (10 August 1932 - 2 March 2001) was the third Pastor 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), succeeding

Alexander Abiodun Adebayo Bada Alexander Abiodun Adebayo Bada (4 December 1930 - 8 September 2000) was the second Pastor of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), succeeding the founder Samuel Biléhou Joseph Oschoffa in December 1985. Early life Bada was born on 4 December 1930 ...

on 2 October 2000 and being formally declared leader on 24 December 2000. Shortly after being appointed he fell ill, dying on 2 March 2001.

Early years

Ajose was born on 10 August 1932 in

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 ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. His father was a co-founder of the United Methodist African Church at Eleja,

. Ajose attended St Thomas Primary School, Badagry (1939 - 1949). He was accepted by the

Ports Authority for a three-year course in Mechanical Engineering, graduating with a certificate in internal combustion engineering. He obtained a job with the Electric Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) in 1951, working at the Ijora Power Station. He was transferred to

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

as superintendent in 1961,

Oshogbo Osogbo (also ''Oṣogbo'', rarely ''Oshogbo'') is a city in Nigeria. It became the capital city of Osun State in 1991. Osogbo city seats the Headquarters of both Osogbo Local Government Area (situated at Oke Baale Area of the city) and Olorund ...

in 1967, Ajure in 1970 and

in 1971 where he held the position of Superintendent District Manager.

Church career

While working with the ECN Ajose was active in the CCC, and established over 200 parishes of the church in the different locations to which he was assigned. Ajose resigned from the ECN in 1976 to work full-time for the CCC. Recognising his administrative ability, the founder Celestial Samuel Bilehou Oschoffa assigned him to replace the pioneer Shepherd Overseas, Paul O. Okuneye JP. in 1979, to run Overseas Diocese of the CCC with headquarters in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, covering

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After Alexander Bada died, the World Committee Of Shepherd selected Papa Ajose as Pastor and Spiritual Head of CCC Worldwide. Shortly after being appointed he fell ill, dying on 2 March 2001. He was buried on 30 March 2001 at the conference centre of the Church at

Celestial Holy City Imeko Celestial City, Imeko is the Holy City of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC). It is located in the Imeko Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria, very close to the border with Benin. Celestial City is known as "Jerusalem" by the celes ...

, Ogun State. There was a leadership dispute over the succession to Ajose, with some declaring

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 ...

the leader, while others recognised the Reverend

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 ...

, son of church founder Samuel Oshoffa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajose, Philip Hunsu 1932 births 2001 deaths Nigerian religious leaders Yoruba Christian clergy People from Lagos State