Biography of Bishop Ajayi Crowther

Bishop Ajayi Crowther Biography

This narrative tells the tale of a slave who rose to become the first Anglican bishop in Africa and the first person to translate the Bible into Yoruba. Samuel Ajayi Crowther is his name.

Born in 1809 in the Osogun town in Oyo State. He was raised during perilous periods of war and the slave trade. Bishop Ajayi Crowther, his family, and his entire community were taken prisoner by Fulani slave merchants when he was approximately twelve years old. Ajayi recalled the tragic incident, which included the devastation of once-thriving homes, the rope of individuals by the neck and their forced labor as slaves, the killing of those deemed unfit to go, and the anguish of being separated from loved ones. Before Ajayi was bought by Portuguese traffickers, she was passed from one hand to another six times.

A British Navy patrol ship intercepted the slave ship carrying them to America, where they were to be sold for more money. With William Wilberforce playing a major role, the British Evangelical Christians outlawed the slave trade in 1807; consequently, they used their fleet to patrol the country, preventing any kind of slave trade and freeing any slaves that were taken prisoner. God stepped in, releasing Ajayi and his family members who were with him. When the slave traffickers raided his town, it was possible that his father, Ayemi, was slaughtered.

Following their release, they were relocated to Freetown in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone was starting to turn into a Christian community by this point. Ajayi was looked after and taught English by the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS) when he was in Sierra Leone. Ajayi was sent to school because of his exceptional intelligence, and in a short period of time, he was able to read the Bible with ease. After becoming a Christian, he took the name Samuel Crowther after a well-liked priest who was one of CMS’s founders. Crowther developed an interest in language study while he was living in Freetown. He was sent to study in England in 1826, and he later came back to Freetown to finish his education at a missionary school.

About the third year of his emancipation from the enslavement of man, Ajayi stated the following about his soul’s salvation: “I was convinced of another worse state of slavery, namely the slavery of sin and Satan.” The Lord was glad to see my heart open. I was received as a soldier into the earthly church of Jesus Christ, to valiantly battle against our spiritual foes beneath His banner. The enslavement of the soul by sin and Satan is the second worst kind of slavery. Someone can only be freed from this horrible servitude by Jesus. Make His acquaintance now!
Bishop Ajayi Crowther, along with his spouse, another priest, and his pastor son

GOAL

After his return to Nigeria, Bishop Ajayi Crowther established a missionary base in Abeokuta, the current Ogun State capital, in 1843. He translated the Bible into Yoruba during this time, giving it the name Bibeli Mimo. Along with writing the Yoruba translation of the Anglican Book of Common Prayers, he also released a grammar book, a vocabulary book, and a dictionary explaining the Yoruba language. Numerous Yoruba proverbs were included in this vocabulary book. A few years before his death in 1884, he finished and released the first Yoruba Bible.

As a linguist (a person who studies languages), Bishop Ajayi Crowther started working on other languages and codifying them. In 1857, with the help of a young Igbo interpreter, he wrote a prayer book for the Igbo language. In 1860, he created one for the Nupe language, and in 1864, he completed the Nupe grammar and vocabulary. Later, he read the Lord’s Prayer to Queen Victoria of England in Yoruba, which she praised for being beautiful and gentle.

The first Bible to be translated into Nigerian was the Efik Bible, which was translated into the New Testament in 1862 and the Old Testament in 1868. The second translation of the Bible, released in 1884, was Yoruba.

In more than a thousand African languages, the Bible has been translated.

Bishop Ajayi Crowther became the first African bishop of the Anglican church when he was consecrated by the London bishop in 1864. In a strange turn of events, Crowther’s mother reappeared in 1848. They had spent twenty-five years apart. He renamed his mother Hannah and had her baptized. Madam Ibisomi-T’Elerin-masa was her previous name as a water priestess.

Bishop Ajayi Crowther entered into matrimony with a teacher. After becoming a Christian, she changed her name from Asano to Susan. She was also released from a slave ship owned by Portugal. One of their many children became a priest. The grandson of Bishop Ajayi Crowther was the well-known Nigerian patriot Herbert Macaulay. In order for Nigeria to gain independence from Britain in 1960, British colonial rule had to collapse, and Herbert Macaulay had a significant influence on this process.

At the age of 82, Crowther passed away in 1891. We continue to learn about his important contributions to the gospel’s dissemination some 131 years later.

Bishop Ajayi Crowther had a peculiar faith, as we may read and understand now. His example encourages us to make the decision to follow Jesus, live for Him, show diligence, and serve as His instrument. God used him to translate the Bible into Yoruba because of how much he valued it; this is an incredible piece of labor. He left us with a lot of legacy to carry on. You can start living this kind of amazing life by giving your life to Jesus.