The Rt Revd Stephen Ayodeji A. Fagbemi, Ph.D(Kent) The Rt Revd Dr Stephen Ayodeji Fagbemi is the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Owo and the immediate past General Secretary of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), an office that he handled creditably-well until after his enthronement on November 1, 2017. Bishop Fagbemi is a native of Oba-Ile in Ondo State and a parishioner of St John’s Church, Oba-Ile where he was a chorister and later a licensed Lay Reader. He started his ministry as a Church Agent in Akure Diocese in 1986 before proceeding to train fully for the ministry at Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan from 1987-1990 after which he was ordered Deacon in the Diocese of Owo. He gained the Diploma in Religious Studies of the University of Ibadan (1989) and the Diploma in Theology of the College becoming the best graduating student of his set in 1990. He gained a Bachelor of Theology Honours degree in Second Class Upper Division from the University of Nottingham, having studied at St John's College. He also holds a Certificate in Anglican Spirituality from Canterbury in conjunction with Duke University, Virginia. Later he received his Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D) in Theology from the University of Kent, Canterbury specializing in New Testament Interpretation and Applied Theology. Dr Fagbemi is a child of God and a well-experienced pastor and teacher of the word of God who has served in various roles as theological educator, prison chaplain, and parish priest among others. He has varied parish experience from both the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and the Church of England. He served as a parish priest in the diocese of Canterbury, and later as the Co-ordinator of Chaplaincy Services and Anglican Chaplain at the University of Sunderland and Associate Priest at Sunderland Minster in the diocese of Durham. He is a member of Tyndale Fellowship of Biblical and Theological Research. He has mentored many youths some of whom have now become priests in the Anglican Church.He is committed to the truth of God’s word and its power to save sinners. Bishop Fagbemi is a lover of church music, himself an organist. He is a theologian of uncompromising evangelical Anglican persuasion, and a charismatic Anglican minister who distinguished himself as the Dean of Archbishop Vining College of Theology, Akure, where he served for more than 5 years as the Apostle of Positive Change before his appointment as the General Secretary of the Church of Nigeria. He believes and shares in the Pentecostal expression of Anglicanism. He is a prolific writer and author of many academic and popular books and articles. He has attended and contributed at many national and international conferences. He authors the Every Soul Matters articles on nigeiraworld.com His many writings include: • ‘The Identity of the Elect in 1 Peter. Its Implications for Believers’ in J. Schlosser (ed.), The Catholic Epistles and the Tradition (Bibliotheca EphemeridumTheologicarum Lovaniensium, 176), Leuven, University Press - Peeters, 2004, pp. 367-380; • Who are the elect in 1 Peter? A Study in Biblical Exegesis and its Application to the Anglican Church in Nigeria, Peter Lang, New York, 2007; • ‘Transformation, Proclamation and Mission in the New Testament: Examining the Case of 1 Peter’, Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies (July 2010) 27:3: 209-223; • ‘Theological and Liturgical Inconsistencies: The Challenge to Nigerian Anglican Evangelical Heritage’ • Celebrating the Anglican Heritage, Capstone Communications Ltd, Nigeria, 2018 (revised edition published in 2019) • ‘Traditional African Values and Christian Hope in Africa’ in African Christian Theology: Focus on Human Dignity, All African Conference of Churches, Acton Publishers, Nairobi, 2018, pp. 226-246 He is happily married to Mrs Florence Ebunoluwa Fagbemi, a seasoned teacher who holds a Master of Education degree in Special Education Needs from the University of Sunderland; and their union is blessed with godly children.