Fr. John A. Peck

Fr. John A. Peck is the priest in charge of St. George Orthodox Church in Prescott. Born in Detroit, MI in 1962, he grew up there and in Mt. Clemens, MI graduating in 1980 from Mt. Clemens High School. He attended Michigan State University and met the future Mrs. Peck, Deborah Robertson, there. They were married in 1984. Their son, Nathan (1985), was born 14 months later, followed by their sons, Benjamin (1990) and Joseph (1994). It was in 1994 that the Peck family departed the lower 48 for Alaska, attending St. Herman Seminary on Kodiak Island. He was ordained a deacon  at Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Kodiak, AK on May 4, 1997, and to the Holy Priesthood on June 22, 1997 at St. Innocent Cathedral in Anchorage, AK.

Fr. John received his B.A. in English Literature from Michigan State University. He graduated from St. Herman Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, after serving as Administrator, and teaching courses in Introductory Speech and Communications, Introductory and Advanced English Literature, Basic Composition, Religious Education, and Christian Psychology. He completed coursework towards a Master’s degree in Public Administration at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He was granted a D.Min. by Veritas Theological Seminary in 2009. His thesis became the book “Called To Serve: A Basic Bible Survey for Orthodox Christians.”

His work experience includes decades of non-profit administration, including a stint as the Executive Director of The Helen Foundation, a non-profit medical foundation located in Mesa, AZ.

Fr. John founded the Incarnation Broadcast Network, the first 24 hour Orthodox Christian internet radio broadcast in the world. He established the first Orthodox seminary website in the world. He hosted the first Orthodox Media Guild gathering in Chicago in 2004, inviting Orthodox media ministries from around the country to plan how to use their new technologies to reach the unchurched.

He was instrumental in diaconal preparation and instruction, serving as lecturer in Biblical Studies and Practical Liturgics for the Late Vocations programs of the OCA Diocese of the Midwest, and the Northeast Ohio Catechetical School for Theological Studies.  He is also the founder and director of the Preachers Institute, an online homiletic resource for Orthodox pastors and preachers.

Fr. John has written several workbooks and manuals for instruction: Called To Serve, Student and Leader’s Manuals, Divine Liturgy: A Student Study Text, the Bible Drill/Bible Divas Field Manuals, and S.W.A.T. (Spiritual Warfare And Training). He has written articles for Orthodoxytoday.org, the American Orthodox Institute, The Handmaiden magazine, the Interior Strength blog, and others.

He is an occasional writer for Charles Staley’s  Staley Training Systems website, and has been featured on the Functional Hand Strength, Theory To Practice, and The Masculine Heart websites.

He is also a contributor of a number of articles, and commentary on the Old Testament books of

• Hosea,
• Song of Songs, and
• III Maccabees

for the newly published Orthodox Study Bible.

Fr. John arrived at St. George in February of 2008.

Recently he launched Journey To Orthodoxy: The Orthodox Christian “Welcome Home” Network for helping those seeking  inquiring into and seeking contacts within the Orthodox Church, and assisting heterodox pastors in their transition to Orthodoxy.

Fr. John is very happily married and the father of three boys.