NO FEMALE SHEPHERDS IN THE CELESTIAL CHURCH OF CHRIST WORLDWIDE

At the General Council Meeting convened by His Eminence, Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, Pastor and Spiritual Head of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide, at the International Headquarters Cathedral, Ketu, Lagos, on Thursday, 14th July, 2022, the following resolution was reached, amongst others, and widely publicised thereafter:

ON WOMEN BECOMING SHEPHERDS: There is no provision in the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide for female members of the church to become SHEPHERDS. They can function as CHURCH WORKERS but not as SHEPHERDS. Female members of the church who build parishes MUST surrender the position of SHEPHERD IN CHARGE of such parishes to an anointed and competent individual duly appointed by the relevant church organ. Ranks and titles like PROPHETESS IN CHARGE are an aberration in the Celestial Church of Christ. Such ranks do not exist in the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide.

In the light of the foregoing, we must therefore correct the erroneous impression created by the trending story on social media titled “KETU FIRST FEMALE SHEPHERD AND CIRCUIT HEAD HEAD.”

Let it be known that Ketu (Seat of Administration of the Apex Authority of C.C.C. W/w) does NOT have a female Shepherd and Circuit Head. The woman referred to as “She-Shepherd” in the said story, Prophetess Folake Akintan is the wife of late planter of the Celestial Church of Christ, Central Parish, Circuit Headquarters, Benin City, Edo State. She is the Matron of the Parish and not the Shepherd In Charge. The present Shepherd In Charge of the Parish in question is AVSE Fasoye, while AVSE Carl Oputu of Celestial Church of Christ M.M. Way Parish is the acting Circuit Head.

The apex authority of the church hereby distances itself from the activities portrayed in the circulating pictures showing Prophetess Folake Akintan laying hands on church members as they knelt before her. The appropriate church organ has been instructed to look into the matter, make corrections and spell out sanctions in order to ensure that such anomaly is not repeated.

We thank all for your concern and zeal to keep C.C.C. W/w on the right track. We assure you that all hands are on deck to keep steering the ship of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide towards fulfilling its divine mandate. Thank you.