Fr. John Whiteford Brings ‘From the Amvon’ to UOJ-USA
While thanking Ancient Faith Radio, he cites his position on the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a motivating factor in making his podcast a production of the Union of Orthodox Journalists of America.
MARCH 14, 2026 — Fr. John Whiteford, rector of St. Jonah Orthodox Church in Spring, Texas, is bringing his long-running podcast “From the Amvon” to the Union of Orthodox Journalists of America. In addition to his pastoral duties and serving as an instructor at the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America (ROCOR) Pastoral School, Fr. John has maintained a robust online ministry stretching back to the 1990s.
The show, previously housed on Ancient Faith Radio’s platform, consists of weekly sermons and lectures offered by Fr. John.
“I am grateful for AFR having hosted my sermons for nearly 12 years,” Fr. John said to UOJ-USA. “I decided to make the switch to them being hosted by the UOJ because I do preach on topics such as the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which AFR has not wanted to post. I understand completely why they would want to remain neutral on a topic that is a matter of dispute within the wider Orthodox Church, but it is not a topic on which my conscience allows me to be neutral, and with the UOJ, this will no longer be a problem. AFR has done a great deal of good over the years, and has a lot of wonderful content, and I hope people will continue to support it.”
“From the Amvon” becomes the third podcast offered by UOJ-USA, joining the “Orthodox Dispatch” news podcast and the “Midnight Office” editorial podcast.
"We're grateful for Fr. John's trust in UOJ-America and that we’re able to add his weekly homilies to our growing media lineup,” Editor-in-Chief Ben Dixon said. “He's been instrumental in the conversion of so many to our faith and we hope to amplify that as the Church continues in this period of growth. We set out this year to build a platform which provides Orthodox Americans with edifying, educational, and informative productions; acquiring 'From the Amvon' is a major advancement towards that goal."
More details on Fr. John’s podcast and where to find it will be released in the near future.
You can listen to the latest episodes of Midnight Office and Orthodox Dispatch, click here.
