Solomon Tilewa Ethelbert Willie Johnson (27 February 1954 - 21 January 2014) was a Gambian Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of Gambia and the Rio Pongas The Diocese of Gambia and Guinea was founded in 1935 and had been renamed the Diocese of Gambia and The Rio Pongas by 1940. Today it is simply styled the Diocese of Gambia, is one of 17 dioceses in the Church of the Province of West Africa, and co ...

and archbishop of the

Church of the Province of West Africa The Church of the Province of West Africa is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 17 dioceses in eight countries of West Africa, specifically in Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Ghana is ...

. He was married and had a son and two daughters.

Early life and studies

Born at Bathurst (now

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

) in 1954, he attended primary school at Banjul from 1962 to 1966. In 1974 he became a teacher at Gambia High School. He moved to

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 ...

, where he studied at Trinity College in Umuahia from 1977 to 1980, earning a degree in Theology in 1980. He pursued his studies at the University of Durham,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, from 1982 to 1985, graduating with a BA in Theology with his dissertation ''The Impact of African Communal Ritual on Modern Christian Missions, 1821-1965''.

Ecclesiastical career

Johnson was ordained as a deacon in 1979 and a priest in 1980. He was consecrated the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Gambia and the Rio Pongas in 1990, the first Gambian national to hold the office, which he retained until his death. He was elected the ninth Archbishop

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the

(CPWA) on 28 September 2012, succeeding

Justice Akrofi Justice Ofei Akrofi (born 1942) is a Ghanaian Anglican Bishop. He is the former Anglican Bishop of Accra (Ghana) and former archbishop (primate) of the Church of the Province of West Africa. He was elected to that position in 2003, which he held ...

. At the same time it was resolved to divide the CPWA into two internal (or metropolitical) provinces, the Province of Ghana (of which

Daniel Sarfo Daniel Yinkah Sarfo is a Ghanaian Anglican bishop. He has been a metropolitan archbishop since September 2012, and was Archbishop Primate of the Church of the Province of West Africa (CPWA), since 13 March 2014 until 3 March 2019. Education He s ...

became the first

Metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

), and the Province of West Africa, of which Johnson was the Metropolitan archbishop as well as being the archbishop primate of CPWA. He was a strong supporter of

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...

, attending GAFCON II, that took place in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

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, from 21 to 26 October 2013.More Anglican Communion leaders pay tribute to the West Africa Primate, Anglican Communion News Service, 23 January 2014
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Death

He died unexpectedly aged 59, after collapsing while playing tennis on the evening of 21 January 2014. He was taken to the Medical Research Council in Bakau-Fajara, where he was pronounced dead. Archbishop

Eliud Wabukala Eliud Wamukekhe Wabukala (born in Bungoma West District, 1951) is a Kenyan Anglican Archbishop notable as a leader in the Anglican realignment. He is Bishop of the Diocese of All Saints Cathedral and the fifth Primate of the Anglican Church of K ...

, of the

Anglican Church of Kenya The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is a province of the Anglican Communion, and it is composed by 41 dioceses. The current Primate and Archbishop of Kenya is Jackson Ole Sapit. The Anglican Church of Kenya claims 5 million total members. Accordin ...

, said upon his death: "It was with shock and great sadness that we heard about the sudden death of our brother Primate, S. Tilewa Johnson, earlier this week. In October last year we shared fellowship at GAFCON 2013 here in Nairobi and we thank God for his commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ whom he served with a robust faith and cheerful energy throughout his ministry. He was a man of global vision and his death, so untimely from our human perspective, has deprived not only the Church of the Province of West Africa, but the whole Anglican Communion of a talented leader."

Family

His mother-in-law was former Deputy Speaker of the

National Assembly of the Gambia The National Assembly of the Gambia is the unicameral legislature of the Gambia. The authorisation for the National Assembly lies in Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Gambia. It is composed of 53 members directly elected through first past ...

Cecilia Cole.

References

External links

The Most Reverend Solomon Tilewa Johnson, 1954-2014, eLearning Africa, 24 January 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Solomon Tilewa 1954 births 2014 deaths Anglican bishops of Gambia and the Rio Pongas 20th-century Anglican bishops in Africa 21st-century Anglican bishops in Africa 21st-century Anglican archbishops People from Banjul Alumni of St John's College, Durham Trinity Theological College, Umuahia alumni Gambian bishops Anglican archbishops of West Africa