It was an atmosphere of mixed feelings on Friday at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, as members and well-wishers globally paid their respects to the late founder, Temitope Joshua, who died on June 5, 2021.

The remembrance ceremony, tagged “Rejoicing with the saints: Prophet T.B Joshua – 5 years in glory”, held on Friday at the headquarters in Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos State, had veteran actor Femi Branch and Ghanaian media personality Saraphine Dogbey as hosts of the event.

Although the crowd was not as large as when Mr Joshua was running the church, the auditorium was still filled to capacity, while other members watched the programme through screens at another location within the premises.

The event witnessed congregation members and other reputable personalities, locally and internationally, both at the venue and online, sharing their memorable encounters with the cleric during his lifetime.

A king in Malawi, Willard Mswati Gomani, who stated that Mr Joshua prophesied that he would be married to a non-Malawian, disclosed that the prophecy came to pass, as he later married a South African woman, adding that the cleric’s teachings on anger management have helped him as a traditional leader.

“One of the conversations we had in his office in 2012, he hinted and said, ‘Don’t worry about Malawian women, there’s no woman there for you. He hinted about my marriage, that if I have a girlfriend in Malawi, we’re just wasting each other’s time. As I speak today, I wake up every morning to my testimony. My wife right there, Inkosikazikulu, is South African, we met in South Africa.

“I use to be always filled with so much anger. His teachings on controlling your temper, not keeping grudges, not being offended, have helped me so much, even in my role. I’ve learnt to control myself, to maintain and always know that God has everything under control. I’m so thankful for how the man of God, not only about teaching us on spirituality, but also on our physical being.”

Another faithful, simply identified as Katerina from Czechoslovakia, who spoke virtually from London in the United Kingdom, narrated how her mother was healed from cancer through Mr Joshua’s prophetic declaration and how his teachings have immensely impacted her.

“He has very much impacted my family and spiritual life. Ten years ago, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. It started with ovarian cancer and spread all over her body. The doctor said go and prepare a funeral. I left her at home and went to Prophet Joshua, with her picture in my hand. He took the picture and said ‘it is well’, and blessed my handkerchief. When I travelled back to my mother in Slovakia, she was using the handkerchief and after three months, they declared that her body is completely healed.

“I had the privilege to know Prophet T.B Joshua who was humble. Everything was biblical, the healing, deliverance, charity. He’s a man of God I can’t forget. The simple teachings of Prophet T.B Joshua on biblical basics, if we put into our lives, we’ll see changes. We know him as a prophet of love; he was glowing with love towards others. He sits with beggars and he sits with presidents. He was there for everyone. I’m rejoicing with Prophet T.B Joshua because he is in heaven.”

An elder in the church, simply identified as Mama Akinola, who has been a member of the church since its early days, narrated how she felt when she received the news of the pastor’s passing.

“People who revealed the news to me took time to decide how to tell me. Eventually, when they told me, I was shocked. Minutes later, I started coming back to reality that Prophet T.B Joshua is gone.”

Other speakers at the event were the head of security for the mayor’s office of Engativa in Bogotá, Colombia, Colonel Wilson Vergara Cetina; prominent Christian leader in Argentina, Pastor Robert Acosta; Lieutenant Colonel Melo from the Dominican Republic; and a few others.

Mr Joshua’s time as the leader of the church was filled with several controversies and allegations, mostly yet to be substantiated. From unverified allegations of fake miracles to having fetish powers, sexual assault, having children outside marriage, among others.

The last notable incident involving him before his passing happened on September 12, 2014, when a multi-storey guesthouse on the church premises collapsed and claimed 116 lives.

After his passing, his wife, Evelyn Joshua, officially took over the church’s leadership in September 2021 after she was appointed as Senior Pastor and President of Emmanuel TV, following a ruling by the Federal High Court, which affirmed her as a trustee and leader of the church.

The church was closed for 21 months over the leadership tussle relating to Mr Joshua’s death as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, on December 5, 2021, the church officially reopened for physical Sunday services after the legal tussle.