Peter Fitch has been teaching at St. Stephen’s University in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, since 1979. He is the founder and past Dean of Ministry Studies, a position he held for about 25 years from the inception of the program in 1995 until 2019 when Bradley Jersak became the new Dean. Peter’s current title is Professor of Church History and Historical Theology. He has taught in college or university programs in the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom and led many study groups through Western Europe and the Middle East. A major focus in all his academic work has been the History of Christian Spirituality. He has written several books on different aspects of Christian life including suffering and resilience, Biblical interpretation, and learning how to follow the intuitions of

the heart. Alongside his work at SSU he was Professor of the History of Christian Spirituality at Westminster Theological Centre in the United Kingdom from 2008-2014. In SSU’s undergraduate programs Peter has taught many courses in Biblical Studies, Philosophy, Great Literature, Religious Studies, Practical Theology, and New Testament Greek. 

The current focus of Peter’s work is something he likes to call “Honest Church History.” By showing the problems in the thought and lives of great Christian voices from the past, as well as by honouring their gifts and contributions, Peter tries to equip students to “extract the precious from the worthless” (Jeremiah 15:19).

Peter also loves to explore the past in order to find wisdom for building healthy communities for today. This is more than an academic interest. Peter and his wife, Mary Ellen, along with a group of friends, planted St. Croix Vineyard Church, now called St. Croix Church, in 1992, and they continued in pastoral leadership there until the fall of 2022 when they officially retired on the church’s 30th birthday. They have four grown children and five grandchildren and they live on a revolving cycle of grandparent (or grand-pet) need among the families of their children.

In the early days of SSU, when there wasn’t enough money for regular salaries, Peter developed a music business based on his knowledge of classical and folk guitar. This is still a great interest in his life as he continues to learn and write songs and to share them with family and friends.