Timothy Omotayo Olufosoye (born c. 1907/1912 – 30 October 1992) was the first Primate of the

Church of Nigeria The Church of Nigeria is the Anglicanism, Anglican Church body, church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest Province (Anglican), province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership (not by attendance), after the Church of Englan ...

. He was married and had several children. The grandson of a

tribal chief A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

, his father was the first Christian of his region. His birthdate wasn't recorded and he is believed to have been born between 1907 and 1912. Olufosoye was trained as a catechist and schoolteacher at St. Andrew's College, Oyo, from 1940 to 1941.Timothy O. Olufosoye Biography
/ref> He had his religious studies at Melville Hall, in Oyo, from 1945 to 1946, being ordained a deacon on December 15, 1946 and a priest at Christ Church Cathedral,

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, on December 21, 1947. He first served as a priest in Lagos and Ondo, from 1952 to 1956, being canon residentiary, from 1955 to 1959, and the first provost of the Cathedral of Ondo, from 1959 to 1965. He was consecrated the first African bishop of the Diocese of Gambia and the Rio Pongas on October 10, 1965. He became bishop of the diocese of

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

, in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, in 1971. With the creation of the Church of Nigeria as an autonomous province within the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, he was elected the first Archbishop, on 24 February 1979, a position he held until his retirement in December 1986. During his tenure the number of dioceses of his province increased from 16 to 27.

References

External links

Timothy O. Olufosoye at the Dictionary of African Christian Biography
1992 deaths Primates of the Church of Nigeria 20th-century Anglican archbishops Anglican bishops of Gambia and the Rio Pongas Year of birth missing Yoruba Christian clergy 20th-century Anglican bishops in Nigeria Anglican bishops of Ibadan {{anglicanism-stub