Bro. Eliseo Soriano
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Eliseo "Eli" Fernando Soriano (; April 4, 1947 – February 10, 2021) was a Filipino preacher and televangelist. He was the "Overall Servant" ( Tagalog: ''Lingkod Pangkalahatan,'' formerly called "Presiding Minister") of the Members Church of God International (MCGI), an international Christian religious organization with headquarters in Apalit, Pampanga, Philippines. He was the main host of the radio and television program '' Ang Dating Daan'' ( English: The Old Path, Portuguese: ''O Caminho Antigo'', Spanish: ''El Camino Antiguo''), which is considered as the longest-running religious program in the Philippines. Soriano was known for his signature method of " Bible Expositions". It is a live Bible symposium where guests get the chance to ask impromptu questions personally or via live video streaming or telephone calls. He was also known for straightforward preaching of what they believed are doctrinal errors of various local and international religious groups. He also had numerous religious debates with different church ministers and pastors. An incident when he used a defamatory word in his television
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consequently led to a three-month suspension of the program in a case that went to the
Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...
.


Early life and education

Soriano was born to Triunfo Soriano and Catalina Fernando in Pasay, Philippines, and is the seventh of eight children. He grew up in Pampanga. He started school at the age of eight. Soriano was supposed to receive the highest honors of the school, but he dropped out three months before graduation due to an alleged religious debate between Soriano and the school administrator. On April 7, 1964, three days after his 17th birthday, Soriano was baptized in Seneguelasan,
Bacoor Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor ( fil, Lungsod ng Bacoor), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
, Cavite, and became an official member of the ''Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan'' (Church of God in Christ Jesus, Pillar and Support of the Truth) headed by Nicolas Perez where his parents were also members.


Ministry


Appointed minister

In 1969, Nicolas Antiporda Perez, who was then the church's presiding minister, bestowed upon Soriano the title "minister", making him the only minister in the ''Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan'' at that time. Rumors were circulating that Soriano was going to be Perez's successor. However, after the death of Nicolas Perez in 1975, Levita Gugulan was appointed temporary Presiding General Secretary of the group. Soriano initially accepted the appointment of Gugulan but subsequently denounced her leadership stating that women should not be leaders of the church according to the Bible.


Schism

In 1976, Soriano and his allies left Gugulan's sect. In 1977, Soriano registered a new group, called ''Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanan'' (Church of God in Christ Jesus, Pillar and Ground of Truth), which was later changed to ''Mga Kaanib sa Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanan sa Bansang Pilipinas'' (Members of the Church of God in Christ Jesus, Pillar and Ground of Truth, Philippines). Because of the similarity between the name used by Gugulan's group and Soriano's group, the former filed a suit, which was resolved by the
Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...
in 2001 in favor of Gugulan's group and Soriano's group was ordered to change their church's name. In 2004 Soriano's group changed their church's name to ''Members Church of God International.''


''Ang Dating Daan''

Before starting his flagship TV program, Soriano would preach in different towns and municipalities in the Philippines. In 1980, Soriano started the radio program, '' Ang Dating Daan'', which later became a television program in 1983. In 1983, Soriano was invited as a panelist in GMA-7's inter-religious program, ''Dis hisis Manolo and His Genius Family''. He, along with other representatives of religious groups, would debate and defend their beliefs in the show. Soriano won and was awarded "Most Outstanding Gospel Minister of the Year 1983". Soon, Soriano would receive multiple awards from different charity organizations, notably as ''Bayani ng Lahing Kayumanggi'' (Hero of the Brown Race). On January 20, 1999, Soriano was invited to be the guest in Korina Sanchez's talkshow ''Balitang K'' (K News). There Soriano admitted that the '' Ang Dating Doon'' program, which is a parody of his '' Ang Dating Daan'' show, actually helped raise the popularity of the said religious program.Castro, Levi M. (March 2000). "Special Report". Ang Dating Daan magazine (The Old Path) 58 (10): page 12.


Exile

He was in exile"12,000 watch concert for Maguindanao dead"
'' The Philippine Inquirer'' March 19, 2010
in order to evade various death threats he received over the course of his preaching in the Philippines and the countless libel cases he faced from the people he exposed. He has since used this opportunity to preach in other countries. Currently, '' Ang Dating Daan'' airs in 73 countries worldwide including the United States (as '' The Old Path''), Brazil, Portugal (as ''O Caminho Antigo''), Uruguay, Spain (as ''El Camino Antiguo''), India, South Africa, and
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. In his TV show '' Itanong mo kay Soriano, Biblia ang Sasagot!'' ("''Ask Soriano, the Bible will Answer!''"), he invited people to ask him any Bible-related question.


Charitable works

Soriano, through the help of his nephew Daniel Razon, has been spearheading many projects for the indigent. These include free medical and dental check-ups, a free bus ride and a free transient home for homeless people. Soriano and Razon created a free college scholarship program at the
La Verdad Christian College The La Verdad Christian College or LVCC is a private non-stock, non-sectarian educational institution established in Apalit, Pampanga, Philippines. It is the first private school in the Philippines that grants scholarship programs to deserving st ...
in the Philippines and Africa which provides scholarships to deserving youth. On May 17, 2010, Soriano appeared (through a live video patch) in a concert conceptualized by Daniel Razon and was titled ''Protest Broadcast 3''. The concert aims to help the families of the victims of the Maguindanao Massacre. The victims' representatives received the net proceeds of the concert. The media workers' orphaned children would also be granted scholarships. During his appearance, Soriano harshly criticized former
Philippine President The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whom he blamed for his legal troubles. On August 1, 2010, Soriano-Razon's free college program would receive further financial support from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) through a basketball game to be played by the PBA. The game, titled "Hoopsters Meet the Legends: Kahit Isang Araw Lang" was scheduled for the Cuneta Astrodome. The teams involved were the "PBA legends", Hoopsters (led by Razon), and the KAPI team. All the net proceeds would be given to support the free college program of Soriano and Razon. Soriano and Razon were also involved with the donation and launch of two Mobile Schools (dubbed ''Dunong Gulong'' Project) equipped with learning tools suited for the ALS (Alternative Learning System) of Philippine Education. The project was initially conceptualized during a talk between Education Secretary
Br. Armin Luistro Brother Armin Altamirano Luistro, FSC (born December 24, 1961) is a Filipino Lasallian Brother who served as secretary of the Department of Education of the Philippines under President Benigno Aquino III. Luistro entered De La Salle Scholastica ...
and Razon in the latter's television program ''
Good Morning Kuya ''Good Morning Kuya'' (English: Good Morning Brother) is a morning news-talk program conceptualized by Kuya Daniel Razon which airs on UNTV-37 in the Philippines every weekday morning. The show also provides various public services by means of ...
''. On November 27, 2010, Education Secretary Luistro signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Daniel Razon at the
ADD Convention Center The Members Church of God International (MCGI) Convention Center also known as ''Pasalamatán'' and ADD Convention Center in Tagalog is an open-type, multi-purpose convention center owned by the Members Church of God International (MCGI), a Phili ...
regarding the ''Dunong Gulong'' launch. The two ''Dunong Gulong'' mobile school buses were launched at the SM Mall of Asia on November 28, 2010. "And words became action." This is how Luistro described the project. He is impressed because of the support given by public service channel
UNTV UNTV, formally known as UNTV News and Rescue and UNTV Public Service, is the flagship Philippine television network of the Progressive Broadcasting Corporation (known on air as UNTV-PBC), together with Breakthrough and Milestones Productions ...
and the benevolent group, the ''Ang Dating Daan'' then headed by Soriano, to the anti-illiteracy campaign of the Philippines.


Death

Soriano died on February 10, 2021, in Santa Catarina, Brazil at the age of 73. The Members Church of God International released a statement on the same day announcing his demise, but did not state his cause of death.


Legacy

Different celebrities, religious groups and politicians including President
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
sent their condolences and sympathies. They also sent messages of support and recognition of the late preacher's services and charity works. On April 4 to April 10, 2021, the Members Church of God International held a special week-long charitable event called "The Legacy Continues". The event coincided with the 57th year since the late preacher was baptized in the Church. The event included the MCGI Global Feeding Program, the opening of the MCGI Free Store branches (originally launched on March 14, 2021), a Wish Granting and a special episode of ''Serbisyong Bayanihan''.


Notes


References


External links


EliSoriano.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soriano, Eli 1947 births 2021 deaths Filipino Christian religious leaders Filipino television evangelists Members Church of God International Kapampangan people People from Pampanga People from Pasay Filipino expatriates in Brazil Deaths in Santa Catarina (state)