Revd Dr Peter Walker

Associate Vice-Principal & Director of Development

BA, MA, CertTh, PhD, DPhil
Tutor in New Testament & Biblical Theology
Director of Development

Peter lectures in New Testament studies and Biblical Theology. He has a special interest in the historical Jesus and issues associated with Jerusalem and Middle East. He is qualified as a tour guide around Israel and leads students groups on tours every other year.

Peter studied Classics at Cambridge and then did his doctoral research in Early Church History. His thesis was an investigation into the development of interest in the Holy Land during the early Constantinian period. It was examined by Rowan Williams and later published as Holy City? Holy Places?  After training at Wycliffe, he served in a parish in Tonbridge for 4 years before doing further post-doctoral research at Tyndale House on Jerusalem in the New Testament.

Peter joined the staff of Wycliffe Hall in 1996. Since then he has had various responsibilities (directing our evening course and summer schools; co-ordinating the teaching of preaching and our chapel worship). He is now Director of Development, fostering good donor relations with those who wish to support our present and future ministry as a college through prayer and giving. He will also be the convenor for a major Anglican Consultation in July 2007 (similar to that which he organised in 2002 for Wycliffe’s 125th anniversary).  Until recently he was Honorary Curate at Christ Church, Abingdon. He lives in Abingdon with Georgie and their two teenage children, Hannah and Jonathan.

Peter is in the process of writing a two-volume introduction to the places mentioned in Luke-Acts. In the Steps of Jesus, and then In the Steps of Paul, will give readers an understanding of the historical significance of these places at the time, but also an outline of what has happened there since the New Testament period. Complete with colour illustrations, maps and time-lines, these books should be an authoritative guide both for those intending to travel to the Middle East and for those who cannot. This work on Paul also touches on some key issues of Pauline chronology, which Peter would like to explore —not least the possibility that a quite early date can be found for the Pastoral Epistles.

In a quite separate project Peter is working on Enjoying the Good News (forthcoming IVP), a 12-step introduction to following Jesus based on Luke 24 and Acts 2; he hopes this might be useful for young Christians wanting further input after attending an Alpha course or equivalent.

“To teach the New Testament in a place where there is such a keen interest in discovering and following the real Jesus makes this an inspiring place to work; my hope is that it will always be a place of 'spiritual theology' and that students will leave here with their minds and imaginations stretched by the truth of Jesus and their hearts affected by his love.”