The Rt Revd Dr Stephen Ayodeji A. Fagbemi is the Bishop of the Diocese of Owo, where he is providing godly spiritual and dynamic leadership to the clergy and laity of the diocese, since his election, consecration and enthronement in 2017. He is a pastor, teacher, evangelist and astute administrator of no mean repute. He is both firm and loving in the administration of the diocese committed to him.

Dr Fagbemi hails from Oba-Ile in Ondo State. On giving his life to Jesus, and guided by his mentors, the young Ayodeji recognized the calling of God upon his life and opted to respond despite the challenges. He became available to serve the church, assisting the clergy in undertaking a variety of tasks in the church and vicarage including setting up and cleaning the church and various tools and vessels being used for church worship. He remained a chorister until he started practising as a Lay Reader, and was later licensed as a Lay Reader along with four others by the Very Rev’d M. D. Oyinlade by the permission of the Diocesan Bishop of Akure.

He began full time ministerial duties on his appointment as a Church Agent in 1986 by the first Bishop of Akure, the Rt Rev’d Dr E. Bolanle Gbonigi. As a Church Agent, he exhibited humility imbued with courage, candor and determination with focus, setting his eyes on higher achievements in fulfilling his calling. He displayed unquestionable devotion to tasks, learning quickly and paying attention to details.

After serving as a Church Agent, the young Ayodeji proceeded to train fully for the ordained ministry at Immanuel College of Theology and Christian Education, Ibadan from 1987, obtaining a Diploma in Religious Studies (1989) and a Diploma in Theology (1990), graduating as the best student of his set. He underwent his training with the fear of God and grew in his spiritual formation and development, exhibiting without equivocation his commitment as a child of God whose life has been touched and transformed by God. This was to later impact his future ministry as a clergyman and as a bishop. He demonstrated passion and unrelenting determination to master the art of playing the organ so that he later became the College Organist in his final year at college while his friend, now Bishop Akinpelu Johnson was the Choir Master and another of his friends, now Bishop Emmanuel Adekola, was a member of the choir.

On completion of his training, Mr Fagbemi was posted to Owo Diocese, where he was ordered Deacon in 1990 and ordained Priest in 1991 by the first Bishop of Owo, the Rt Reverend Abraham Oluyemi Awosan. The Reverend Stephen Fagbemi (or Steve, as he was then popularly known) served curacies first, at St John’s Church, Iyere and second, at St Patrick’s Church, Ijebu-Owo, serving with great spiritual fervor and charisma that greatly impacted the two churches, as people’s spiritual lives were challenged and transformed, especially the youths.

Thereafter, he was given pastoral responsibilities as Priest-in-Charge of Christ Church, Wakajaye-Etile, Ibadan Diocese, when he returned to study briefly for a University of Ibadan degree programme. He left this course on securing opportunity to study abroad. The Reverend Fagbemi thus proceeded to undertake full undergraduate studies that led to his receiving the award of Bachelor of Theology (Honours) degree from the University of Nottingham in Second Class Upper Division, before returning to Nigeria, for further parish ministry.

Later, Reverend Fagbemi returned to the United Kingdom for his post-graduate studies, which finally led to his obtaining the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in theology, from the University of Kent, Canterbury, specializing in New Testament Interpretation and Applied Theology. He also completed a certificate course in Anglican Spirituality (C.A.S. Canterbury).

Dr Fagbemi has a 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, at the Benefice of Murston with Bapchild and Tonge. His appointment as the Co-ordinator of Chaplaincy Services and Anglican Chaplain at the University of Sunderland and Associate Priest at Sunderland Minster took him to the Diocese of Durham. There, he was involved in a variety of things, within the university, serving in University Ethics Committee, and in the City of Sunderland where he became the Chair of Faith Independent Advisory Group (FIAG) to the Sunderland Partnership. He was equally offering pastoral ministry as a Priest/Chaplain to the Extra-Parochial Place of Sunderland Minster. He became the Assistant Secretary to the Overseas Fellowship of Nigerian Christians (Newcastle Branch). He was also a lecturer at NEOC (later Lindisfarne), where he taught Church of England ordination candidates Doctrine, Scripture and Practical Theology.

Dr Fagbemi returned to Nigeria to become the Dean (Rector) of Archbishop Vining College of Theology, Akure before his appointment as the General Secretary of the Church of Nigeria. At Archbishop Vining College of Theology, Akure, he distinguished himself as a charismatic and visionary leader who, by the grace of God, brought unprecedented physical and spiritual transformation to the college, impacting the lives of people and changing the outlook and concepts of the college. He introduced the Every Soul Matters agenda and was nicknamed “Apostle of Positive Change.” Despite the workload of administering the college and its Chapel of the Annunciation, he was committed to teaching his students homiletics, Anglican Polity, Christian Worship in the New Testament, Biblical Hermeneutics, among others.

Dr Fagbemi was appointed the General Secretary of the Church of Nigeria, where he put his skills at the disposal of the national Church. He performed exceedingly well, breaking new grounds and giving the office a new pedestal before he was elected, consecrated and enthroned Bishop of Owo in 2017. Bishop Fagbemi is an astute administrator, who has a ‘large heart’ and passion for church growth and equipping the saints for true, practical Christianity in the age of decadence and ultra-liberalism. He continues to lead the diocese under God with clear vision and goals to deliver. A lot of physical growth and spiritual transformation have taken place in the Diocese of Owo since his arrival in 2017, impacting both clergy and laity positively for the kingdom business.

Bishop Fagbemi is a member of Tyndale Fellowship of Biblical and Theological Research. Doctor Fagbemi’s ministry and theological worldview has been greatly impacted by his personal spiritual rebirth, exposure, education and ministry in the United Kingdom, as an evangelical scholar, pastor and teacher without compromising his evangelical position. He believes in the power of the gospel to save and in the Pentecostal expression of Anglicanism.

He enjoys, singing and listening to both classical music and traditional church hymns, among other interests. He plays the organ and enjoys swimming and cycling with his children. Among his many writings are Who are the Elect in 1 Peter? A Study in Biblical Exegesis and its Application to the Anglican Church of Nigeria, New York, Peter Lang, 2007; Celebrating the Anglican Heritage(2018, 2021), and The Anglican Church in Nigeria: Origins, Worship, Contemporary Spiritual and Theological Challenges (2023, 2024 & 2025). Bishop Fagbemi is a popular conference speaker and apt teacher of the word. He is happily married to his beautiful wife and friend Mrs Florence Ebunoluwa Fagbemi and their union is blessed with two children, AyoOluwa and Ayodipo.