Peter A. Lillback


Church History

Rev. Dr. Peter Lillback (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is president and professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also serves as the president emeritus and founder of The Providence Forum and senior editor of the new Unio cum Christo: An International Journal of Reformed Theology and Life.

Dr. Lillback’s academic interests include church history, the doctrine of Scripture, public theology, the theology of John Calvin, Johannine Theology, and Christianity as it relates to American history. For those who are new to Dr. Lillback’s writing and teaching on his research interests, he recommends several resources as places to start. On Calvin, he would recommend starting with his work co-edited with David Hall, A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis, as well as his lecture “The Place of Covenant in Calvin’s Theology.” Also consider his course Covenant Theology, available free online from Westminster, which specifically focuses on Calvin’s contribution to the development of covenant theology during the Reformation.

Concerning Dr. Lillback’s research on Christianity in American history, he would recommend his publications George Washington’s Sacred Fire and Wall of Misconception, or his lecture “The American Presbyterian Experience of Religious Liberty and the American Amendments to the Westminster Confession.” On the doctrine of Scripture, he recommends his recent work co-edited with Dr. Richard Gaffin Thy Word Is Still Truth, which is a survey of essential writings on the doctrine of Scripture from the Reformation to today.

It is Dr. Lillback’s pleasure, as president, to host a variety of prominent teachers and speakers at Westminster, which he will also share on this site. For example, it was his joy to help establish the Richard B. Gaffin Lectures on Theology, Culture, and Mission, an annual lecture series in honor of the great biblical theologian and Westminster professor emeritus Dr. Richard Gaffin. Past lecturers include Bruce Waltke, Peter Jensen, Robert Letham, Al Mohler, D. A. Carson, John Piper, and more.

Education

  • PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary, 1985
  • ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1978
  • BA, Cedarville College, 1974

Church Ministry

Dr. Lillback has been ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), and holds his present credentials as teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

Teaching and Professional History

  • Senior Editor, Unio cum Christo, 2015–present
  • President, Westminster Theological Seminary, 2005–present
  • Professor of Historical Theology and Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, 2005–present
  • President, The Providence Forum, 1999–present
  • Professor, Philadelphia Theological Seminary, 1995–1999
  • Adjunct professor of Historical Theology and Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, 1986–1995
  • Pastoral ministry, Delaware and Pennsylvania, including Proclamation Presbyterian Church, 1982–2009
  • Lecturer in Historical Theology and Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, 1981

Courses

  • The Life and Thought of John Calvin (CH763)
  • Lutheran Orthodoxy
  • Doctrine of the Christian Life
  • Covenant Theology
  • Continental Confessions
  • Reformation Church History (CH311)

Other Online Resources