Olatosho Oshoffa, the son of the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, Worldwide, Bilewu Oshoffa, has shared his thoughts concerning polygamy in the church, saying the church doesn’t forbid the practice.
The shepherd of CCC International Headquarters, Ketu, Lagos, while defending his late father’s large family declared that no prophets in the Bible had one wife.
“Can I tell you something… (sic)? You see, in that scripture, Paul was only advising. Tell me in the Bible, which prophet of God had only one wife? Do your research and tell me,” Oshoffa told Sunday PUNCH.
The late Oshoffa left 13 wives and 53 children behind raising concern about his lifestyle even as the leader of one of Nigeria’s Christian congregations.
However, Tosho, as the young Oshoffa is also called, dismissed such concerns, saying that even though his late father already had three wives, God still gave him the vision to begin his ministry 76 years ago.
“I am sure that in 1947, if there had been a better candidate to found the CCC, Oshoffa would not have been chosen.
“But since there was no better candidate, he was the only one God found worthy of founding CCC, despite having three wives. So those who condemn my father must know that he never had a concubine.
“He married them (his wives) and they were all under his roof. But today, the so-called men of God with only one wife will have concubines outside.
“Which is better? So I tell you that if God judged by the number of wives before sending a bishop or pastor on a mission, my father would have been disqualified because he had three wives before God called him,” he said.
When asked how his father was able to keep his large family together, he said that his father never trained children from different mothers.
“Let me tell you something, my dear brother. Our father, while he was on earth, used to gather us together and say: never say that you are a son or daughter to any of my wives. But tell yourself that you are a son of Oshoffa.
“This means that he used that belt of love to bind us together. So we do not see ourselves as children of our various mothers but as children of Oshoffa. That is the same way we told each other when he (Oshoffa) was still in this world and has been doing it after his passing.
“Even today, to the remaining Oshoffa wives who were younger than my mother, I still refer to them as my mother, because of the love that our father (Oshoffa) has used to bring us together. Therefore, we all remain one as children of SBJ Oshoffa,” he added.
Regarding the leadership crisis shaking the heavenly Church, the cleric said that such a crisis was expected after the departure of the founder. However, he is hopeful that the problems will be resolved soon.
However, he stated that his elder brother, Reverend Emmanuel Oshoffa, is the leader of the church.
“Now, when the founder of this church departed, the same way Jesus Christ departed, there was trouble among the apostles about who would lead.
“Just as history tells us, the Catholic Church at one time had multiple Popes. But today, after so many centuries, they only have one Pope.
“This is the same situation with CCC. After the death of its founder, there were many problems. The apostles also faced the same succession challenges as those of the Catholic Church.
“…But today, the most acclaimed and accepted leader in the CCC around the world is the first son of the founder, my elder brother, Rev. Emmanuel Oshoffa, who is based in Imeko, Ketu and Makoko, the church headquarters,” he added.