Eliseo "Eli" Fernando Soriano (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈʔɛli soɾˈjano]; 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, apologists and pastors. He was also known for the phrase "Kung mabasa ko?" ("What if I read it?"), which he used during debates when challenging his opponents to acknowledge that they were mistaken if he could cite the relevant passage from the Bible.
An incident when he used a defamatory word in his television show consequently led to a three-month suspension of the program in a case that went to the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Soriano was a multilingual Christian preacher who spoke Kapampangan and Tagalog as his First language. He was also fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, all of which he used in his international ministry, particularly during his years in Brazil. In addition to these languages, he used Koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew for biblical exegesis and frequently referred to the original biblical texts in his sermons, debates, and question-and-answer programs.
Eliseo Fernando 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, 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.
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.
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 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.
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 [This] is 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 talk show Balitang K (K News). There Soriano admitted that the Ang Dating Doon skit from the GMA sketch comedy show Bubble Gang, which is a parody of his Ang Dating Daan program, actually helped raise its popularity. Conversely, Isko Salvador–who went by the stage name "Brod. Pete" as a play on American actor Brad Pitt–expressed his appreciation towards Soriano in an interview with UNTV News, stating that Ang Dating Daan helped him better understand the Bible. Salvador cited Soriano's sense of humor and ability to interpret and explain the scripture for creating the Ang Dating Doon skit.
In 1999, Ang Dating Daan launched its website, www.angdatingdaan.org, as an online resource for viewers in the Philippines and abroad. The ministry subsequently introduced webcasting through webtv.angdatingdaan.net, which provided 24-hour access to Soriano's preaching. The same year, the program began offering live video streaming over the World Wide Web, preceding the later popularity of platforms such as YouTube and other web-streaming services.
He was in exile 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 Saipan.
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.
Use of mass media and digital platforms
Soriano made extensive use of mass media and digital platforms in his ministry, particularly through Ang Dating Daan and The Old Path. His programs were used for preaching, Bible studies, Bible expositions, and question-and-answer sessions. As internet access expanded, his ministry also used websites and online video platforms to make its religious programs available to audiences outside traditional broadcast media.