Cathedral Staff

Canon for Global Justice and Reconciliation

The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson

The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson

The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson

The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson is the Cathedral’s canon for global justice and reconciliation. Canon Peterson oversees a program of education, alliance building, resource gathering, and communication to address the acute global issues of violence, poverty, and disease.

Most recently Canon Peterson served as the Secretary General of the Worldwide Anglican Communion headquartered in London. The Anglican Communion Office is organized to provide support and counsel to the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates Meeting, the Lambeth Conference and the role and person of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Before his appointment as Secretary General, Canon Peterson was the Dean of St. George’s College, Jerusalem, for 12 years. He is also the Anglican Canon at St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem and is an Honorary Canon in the Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Kaduna Nigeria, All Saints, Mpwapwa, Tanzania, as well as, St. Dunstan’s Cathedral, Benoni, South Africa. He is also an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Peterson’s area of expertise and study is biblical archaeology. Among his numerous academic achievements and honors are degrees from Concordia College, Harvard University, the Chicago Institute for Advanced Theological Studies, Virginia Theological Seminary, the University of the South and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. He has also studied at the American University and the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the author of A Walk in Jerusalem: Stations of the Cross, now in its ninth printing.

Canon Peterson serves as Chair of the Spafford Children’s Center in Jerusalem and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Anglican observor at the United Nations. He is a member of the American Friends of the Anglican Center in Rome, and is a member of the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem.

In his role as Cathedral Canon for Global Justice and Reconciliation Canon Peterson works closely with the Diocese of Washington and the Cathedral’s Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage as resource centers for education and gathering places for scholars, theologians, world religious leaders, politicians, and diplomats who must begin the discussions and actions critical to issues of global justice and reconciliation.

Past Cathedral Appearances

Future Cathedral Appearances

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