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Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa (October 11, 1909 – September 10, 1985) was the founder 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 Oshof ...
after reportedly resurrecting people from the dead. He founded the church in 1947 after being lost for three months near
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 G ...
in
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 nort ...
. The church now has its main offices in Bénin and
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 ...
. Five percent, or 400,000, of the 8 million people of Benin are Celestial Christians. Oshoffa was reported to have had 14 wives and 54 children when he died in 1985 although some say these figures are high.


Biography

Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa (Ojú kìí ṣe ọfà) was born on October 11, 1909 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 G ...
, capital of the French colony of Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin) into a
Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
family of mixed religion. His father, Joseph Oshoffa, was a Muslim but become a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
, whilst his mother, Alake Iyafo, from the town of Imeko, followed traditional religions but objected to Christianity. His family was a member of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church and not Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa himself. His mother left him when he was only three months old to return to Imeko, Nigeria where her husband lived. His father was a carpenter (a fact which was later thought important to a person who later reported receiving visits from Jesus Christ). He married his first wife, Felicia Yaman and she was involved with the launch of the new church. She was said to be able to prophesy conflict and was invited to many of Oshoffa's meetings.


Revelation

Oshoffa was working in the
ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
trade in 1947 when he was instructed to found the new church. He reported that he had been searching in the forests to find the correct type of tree. He said he lost his way and had to live off the land for three months. When he emerged he was empowered with the gifts of healing and prophecy. His first act of healing was reportedly the
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
of his nephew. As a result, his elder sister, Elizabeth, was the first convert. The nephew was to become recognised as the first prophet of the new church. Over the next few years, several other people were reportedly brought back from the dead by Oshoffa. Between 1947 and 1951, the church grew in the country of Benin. In 1976, it was relocated to Nigeria because Oshoffa was in a minor conflict with the government of Benin. This was timely as he was just about to be arrested. Very soon after arriving in Nigeria, Oshoffa cured a mad woman, although many people doubted this account. Oshoffa held a public meeting in
Yaba, Lagos Yaba is a suburb located on Lagos Mainland, Lagos in Lagos State, Nigeria. There are several federal government institutions in the area, which include Queen's College, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, the Yaba College of Technolog ...
, where those gathered reported his ability to prophecy. In the same year he again claimed a resurrection. The new church grew rapidly, and it gained followers across West Africa and the world. The church was estimated to have several million followers in 1998. In Nigeria, Oshoffa was sold a large piece of land after the owner was assisted by a "holy man's" intervention in a dream with a legal dispute. The new church continued to receive resistance from the Nigerian authorities, but it was officially recognised in 1958. He took on two partners for the church, Reverends Alexander Abiodun Bada and Samuel Ajanlekoko.


Death

Oshoffa died on 10 September 1985 after being involved in a car accident where everyone in the car died. He was buried at Celestial City, Imeko. Oshoffa was the sole source of authority for the church and because of this, his death caused some problems of succession. After some confusion,
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 ...
was appointed his successor by the church trustees. Nigeria is considered a diocese of the worldwide church, with supreme headquarters at
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 G ...
. Therefore, Benoit Agbaosi would be appointed by the supreme headquarters leaders to lead the church. In the beginning, those who became leaders of Celestial Church of Christ parishes were appointed by the Pastor Founder Reverend S.B.J. Oshoffa. A church is called a parish and the spiritual leader of the parish is called a shepherd. To be a shepherd of a parish, one must be called through spiritual revelation. After the revelation was confirmed, the would-be shepherd was required to serve as an apprentice under established shepherds. As the church grew, it became necessary to establish some form of training system for the clergy. A seminary to train shepherds was established for male clergy a year after Oshoffa's death. Porto-Novo, the supreme headquarters, chose Benoit D. AGBAOSSI (1931-2010) to succeed the Founder. The church celebrated the 100-year anniversary of its founder's birth with a music festival and had awarded prizes in memory of him in Benin.Benin: Third Celestial Music Festival opens on Friday in Benin
Afrique en ligne, 2009, accessed September 2010
Five percent of the 8,000,000 population of Oshoffa's home country of Benin were Celestial Christians in 2009.
United States
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. DRL's resp ...
(September 14, 2007), accessed March 2009


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshoffa, Samuel Bilehou J 1909 births 1985 deaths Burials in Ogun State Founders of new religious movements Nigerian Christian religious leaders People from Porto-Novo Road incident deaths in Nigeria Yoruba Christian clergy