Samuel Biléou Joseph OSCHOFFA (1909-1985) is the founder, and the sole founder, of the CELESTIAL CHURCH OF CHRIST. On 29 September 1947, in Porto-Novo, he received the command to found it, and he led it for 38 years: 29 years in Dahomey, present-day Benin, then 9 years in Nigeria.
This guide is a starting point. It gives the key dates of his life, answers the questions people ask most often, and each time points to the teaching that tells the whole story. For a first portrait, start with Who was the Prophet OSCHOFFA?.
Key dates
- 18 May 1909: born in Porto-Novo, on a Tuesday, at around 5 in the morning. His father had promised him to God before his birth.
- 1916: at the age of seven, he enters the household of the teacher Moïse YANSUNNU and meets Nathaniel A. YANSUNNU, who would never leave his side.
- His youth: joiner and carpenter, Protestant chorister, then seeker of God among the Methodists and in the Order of Cherubim and Seraphim.
- June 1939: death of his father; he becomes a trader in precious woods.
- 1947: more than three months alone in the forest, then the canoe without a paddle as far as Agonguè.
- 29 September 1947: he receives the command to found the Church.
- 1961: serious illness; on 6 August, a great address on the future of the Church.
- 1965: healing at the foot of the mango tree, and the birth of hymns 204 and 242.
- 7 January 1976: departure for Nigeria.
- 15 October 1983: consecration of the Celestial City of Imeko.
- December 1984: the last Ordre des Cultes (Order of Services), published at Imeko.
- 1 September 1985: last public appearance, at Ikorodu.
- 10 September 1985: called home to God, on a Tuesday. He is buried at Imeko on 19 October.
The questions people ask
Could the Prophet read and write?
Yes. A letter he wrote to the colonial administration about the Church survives, and he himself translated many hymns. The full portrait: Who was the Prophet OSCHOFFA?
Why was he called "the trumpeter"?
A joiner and carpenter by trade, he also played the trumpet in the Porto-Novo municipal band. At the time of the founding, he was still called by that name.
Was he driven out of the Order of Cherubim and Seraphim for adultery?
No. It was elders of the Order who had abused his wife at the time; they turned the accusation against him, and he left without a word. In 2000, a high dignitary of the Order publicly denied the story. The full account: “From Church to Church: the future Prophet's search for God”.
Is Agonguè the cradle of the Church?
No. When the current set his canoe down there, the Church did not yet exist: it was born only on 29 September 1947, in Porto-Novo. The story: “Before the founding: a father's vow, the forest and the canoe without a paddle”.
How many wives did he have?
The wives he chose himself numbered no more than four, which was few for his time. The "52 wives and 132 children" one reads on the Internet have never been verified. The details: “The Prophet's married life: separating truth from falsehood”.
Why did he leave for Nigeria?
Prophecies had announced it since 1957. In the early morning of 7 January 1976, the Spirit told him to leave, and he set off the same day. The story: “7 January 1976: the Prophet leaves for Nigeria”.
Was he ever ill?
Twice, people thought they would lose him: in 1961, then in 1965. The second time, he was healed within a few hours, on the day a woman in chains was set free under a mango tree. The story: “The Prophet's healing in 1965, and hymns 204 and 242”.
Where does he rest?
At Imeko, in Nigeria, his mother's home town, where he was buried on Saturday 19 October 1985.
Names to know
- Joseph OSCHOFFA: his father, a Protestant carpenter, who promised him to God.
- Nathaniel A. YANSUNNU (1904-1970): his "room brother" since 1916, the Church's first Evangelist and the founder of its choir.
- Mama YAHMAN (1906-1975): "the lady with the veil", his first wife and principal counsellor.
- Marie and Frédéric ZEVOUNOU: the couple with whom he was praying on 29 September 1947.
- Emmanuel GOUTON: his nephew, the Church's first visionary.
Reading the Prophet's life
The OSCHOFFA series follows his life year by year, told by a witness who lived alongside him and the pioneers:
- OSCHOFFA – Tome I: the founding and the first years, from 1947 to 1954;
- OSCHOFFA – Tome II: the ministry in Benin, from 1954 to the departure for Nigeria;
- OSCHOFFA – Tome III: the nine Nigerian years, until 1985;
- OSCHOFFA – Tome IV: the Church after the departure of those who carried it.
