Firm Members
In 1995, Touchstone, then known as "A Journal of Ecumenical Orthodoxy," held a conference in South Carolina. Its title, "Not of This World: An Ecumenical Conference for Traditional Christians," reflected the founding intention of our journal to be a meeting place for such Christians across a wide swath of church affiliations. This purpose remains firmly in place, and the fellowship of readers and attendees at our recent conferences confirms it (see our 2021 conference announcement above).
Such traditional Christians do not lightly wear their commitment to the faith once for all delivered. Readers may have been struck by the note sounded in the final sentence of the editorial in this issue:
But now there is in view the blessed chance that we may end not by being penetrated and compromised by religious odium or the spirit of the age, but by a form of martyrdom: the death died by faithful witnesses to the Word of God in the "context of persecution". . . .
Willingness to go the distance marks the true fellowship of the members of the Body of Christ. Twenty-six years ago, at "Not of This World," S. M. Hutchens said:
[T]he shape of the world these days is such that the true union of Christians may finally be consummated on this earth by a mingling of their blood, not just in separated regions but, as in the days of Diocletian, in all places where there are Christians, as the shadow of the dark wing falls over the whole earth in a way that it never has before.
Steadfast conviction is crucial. As Anthony Esolen describes our work, "Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion."
Touchstone thus serves as a journal for wide-awake Christians looking for encouragement, and for fellow believers—whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox—who are committed to obedient orthodoxy come what may, even at the ultimate price.
If you would like to help build up the fellowship of such readers and you know Christians who you think would appreciate what we've called the Caffeinated Christianity of Touchstone, please send us their names and addresses, and we will send them a complimentary issue. Please send as many names as you wish to editor@touchstonemag.com. We'll do the rest.
James M. Kushiner is the Director of Publications for The Fellowship of St. James and the former Executive Editor of Touchstone.
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more on ecumenism from the online archives
31.4—July/August 2018
Labels & the Ecumenism of Discipleship by James M. Kushiner
more from the online archives
32.4—July/August 2019
Does Biblical Language for Man Matter? by Stephen F. Noll
22.6—July/August 2009
on the Integration of Anger into the Virtuous Life by Leon J. Podles
calling all readers
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"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
