Ancient Faith issues strong response to recent article

Let me preface my response by saying two things. First, this is a very forthright letter that clearly states Ancient Faith's policies on their content providers. Second, whenever I have contacted them with a question or comment, I have received a response. In their early days I once emailed to ask about where to find a recording I had just heard of "Lord I Have Cried..." - it took mere minutes for them to respond and send me the music itself. That has been my consistent experience when I have emailed equally benign questions or very pointed concerns. If you email them, you will get a response. You may not like the response if it's a call for action or the like (as we Americans tend to want things done "Right now, damn it!"), but they will hear you out and acknowledge your missive.

I have often found that the people who have the most to say also have the most vocal and voluminous set of opinions. In no small numbers, one will find that outlandish opinions are intermingled among the more mundane thoughts and sometimes this stirring of opinions makes for unsavory soup. You can both believe in Jesus and that he meant for two men to sleep together, purchase children as off a rack, and and make a family. That He never said anything remotely of the kind or that Church teaching veritably shakes in visceral reaction to such an idea somehow has had no lasting impression on the person. That is how an organization like Ancient Faith can employ people who say 100 reasonable things and then say the most absurd thing in the same tone as if they were all of a kind. It's not that they attempt to net a loon, but that the loon comes into the offices in a trench coat and fedora and pretends (or even thinks he is) a reasonable chap who just happens to have colorful anatine features that don't need to be mentioned while trying to sign a book deal. People tell prospective employers what they think they want to hear.

Ancient Faith cannot monitor everything content producers do, but they can and must respond to the claims of its consumers. That I believe they do in respectable fashion. The question then arises: Should Ancient Faith proactively seek out the online footprints of their authors and podcasters in order to forestall future "gotcha" events? There's a fine line there between being a good steward and being a chekist. My personal opinion is that Ancient Faith will be more watchful, and rightly so. For our collective part, we should feel free to enter into dialogue with them when we feel something has gone amiss.

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(AFM) - Recently, an article called into question Ancient Faith Ministries’ commitment to Orthodox Christianity by ascribing to it ulterior motives which might undermine the integrity of the Orthodox Faith. Other entities were also indicted, and we have no comment about them.

Ancient Faith Radio, the flagship of Ancient Faith Ministries (AFM), was created out of a desire to serve the English-speaking Orthodox world with teaching and music that support Orthodox Christians to grow in their faith, and to be a witness to the truth of Orthodox Christianity in the non-Orthodox English-speaking world. In all of our subsequent ministries (podcast, blog, or print publishing), we are committed to producing media which is unquestionably Orthodox in content and spirit. Our work is overseen by the episcopacy of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese with a Spiritual Advisor assigned, and our responsibility before God is to serve all Orthodox Christians in truth. In our work, we desire to speak to the world with a clear, unified voice, calling people to the Ark of Salvation. We want Orthodox Christians to deepen their commitment to the Christian life through their parishes, and we encourage others to seek out the truth of Orthodoxy in parishes which will support their journey.

In order to accomplish this sacred task, we review the submission proposals of Orthodox Christians of canonical jurisdictions who, with the blessing of their Spiritual Fathers or Bishops, want to create content for AFM. The criteria for content creators associated with AFM are as follows: first, to be a member in good standing of their home Orthodox parish and to have a firm adherence to the unalterable Tradition of the Church as expressed in the Scriptures, the Creed, the Councils, etc, and in the pronouncements of the Assembly of Bishops in the United States; and second, to have the ability to reach listeners and readers, both Orthodox and inquirers, using their particular God-given gifts and creativity. Once a content creator is approved and a blessing is given by their Spiritual Father or Bishop, a relationship with AFM commences. We are firmly committed to working with content creators who express Orthodox teaching and practice in a truthful and relatable manner without aberration.

As part of the partnership we enter into with a content creator, we ask them to abide by our Speaker’s Policy, which follows this statement (below). Here we make clear our stance on things like abortion and same-sex marriage and ask them to assure us that their content will not depart from the Church’s teaching. We also ask them to refrain from posting public comments that would seem to depart from that teaching.

In very few instances, we have been made aware of questionable statements or actions, either on an AFM media source, or on other social media platforms, by a few content creators, which may have contradicted Orthodox teaching or otherwise called into question the content creator’s commitment to Orthodox Christian teaching or practice. In the few cases that have been brought to our attention, we have moved quickly to review the questionable statement or action, including the date when such comments were made, and when warranted, we have taken decisive action. In some very rare cases, this has resulted in the removal of offending content, both in podcast or blog format and in print, or in removal of the content provider altogether. However, in our information-dense age, it is impossible for us to review everything a content provider says or does outside of AFM. We remain open to being notified about any questionable teaching or actions that might reflect poorly on Orthodox Christianity and AFM in particular.

Our commitment is to serve the Orthodox Christian world by presenting the richness of the Orthodox Faith, supporting Orthodox Christians to grow in the fullness of Christ and, for those who are seeking truth, to come home to the Faith of the Apostles. We are grateful for your support and look forward to strengthening our work.

Here is our Speaker’s Policy:

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the content of Ancient Faith Ministries through your book, podcast, or blog. In beginning new relationships like this, we feel it is helpful both to you and to us to share a general understanding of who we are as a ministry and the type of content we are committed to.

At the center of everything we do is the good news of the Gospel centered on the person of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Healer of the world. We want our listeners and readers to see Him first and foremost in all we present. Sometimes other issues, such as politics, church governance, ethnicity, quarrels, and divisions within Orthodoxy, can block the view to Christ, and we don’t want to see that happen. Rather, we want to be a positive, uplifting, and encouraging resource where people can find hope, peace, and love as exhibited by Christ Himself. We like to point to the 3 E’s—Evangelism, Edification, and Education—as the on-ramps to the experience of and relationship with Christ.

At Ancient Faith Ministries, we present our content with the understanding that viewpoints vary on how to apply Orthodox theology to today’s world. We also understand that people may eventually hear or read something on our platform with which they disagree. While we strive to present only material that is in line with the teachings of the Orthodox Church, we do not necessarily endorse all the content available on our website. So there certainly are some liberties our presenters can enjoy.

However, in agreeing to become a content provider for Ancient Faith, you are committing yourself to staying within the boundaries of clear Orthodox teaching as expressed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as well as in the public declarations of the Assembly of Bishops of the Orthodox Church. The latter has helped to interpret Orthodox theology on such contemporary issues as gender, marriage, the sanctity of life, etc. This commitment applies not only to the content you provide for us but to anything you post on your personal platforms, whether websites or social media.

We are pledging to each other that we will remain faithful to the clear teachings of the Orthodox Church as partners in ministry. We realize there are fringe elements in Orthodoxy on the left and the right, but we cannot be identified with any of them. We wish to remain centrist in our media content, avoiding unnecessary controversies or extremes.

If you have any questions, please contact CEO John Maddex – jmaddex@ancientfaith.com.