Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has named the Rev. Dr. Kenneth J. Woo as assistant professor of church history effective July 1, 2016.

“Dr. Woo brings a record of outstanding scholarship, a commitment to preparing women and men for ministry in its many forms, and deep understanding of the context of that ministry in North America—exactly the balance needed in theological education today,” said the Rev. Dr. David Esterline, president and professor of cross-cultural theological education at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. “We are excited to welcome Dr. Woo to the Seminary community and know that we will benefit from his gifts and presence among us.”

Woo currently serves as the historian and archivist of Duke University Divinity School. He has taught at Duke Divinity School, Redeemer Theological Seminary, and the College of New Jersey. Additionally, he is a regular instructor for the United Methodist Church’s Course of Study program for ordained ministry. From 2014-2015 Woo served as the doctoral fellow for research and education with the Religion in North Carolina project, an initiative led by Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University dedicated to documenting the diverse history of religion and religious bodies in a single state.

Woo received his Th.D. in the history of Christianity (Reformation studies) from Duke University Divinity School, his M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary, and his B.A. in English from the College of William & Mary. His dissertation examines the complex ways in which John Calvin and his followers employed theological polemic against religious dissimulation to establish and enforce social and ecclesial boundaries in a variety of 16th-century contexts.

Beyond the European reformations, Woo’s primary research interests span the development of the Reformed tradition, the intersection of biblical interpretation and church history, historical religious responses to persecution and mass migration, and Asian-American history and theology. His most recent publication is “The House of God in Exile: Reassessing John Calvin's Approach to Nicodemism in Quatre sermons (1552),” which appeared in Church History and Religious Culture (2015). Woo’s work has been published in Concordia Theological Quarterly and Sixteenth Century Journal. His conference activity includes presentations at the Sixteenth Century Society Conference, the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, and the Calvin Studies Society Colloquium.

A Minister of Word and Sacrament, Woo’s ministry experience includes serving Presbyterian churches in New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina. Prior to seminary, he was a campus minister to students at Princeton University and Towson University. Woo served for six years as associate pastor of Grace Christian Church, a multicultural congregation just outside Washington, DC.

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has named the Rev. Dr. Kenneth J. Woo as assistant professor of church history effective July 1, 2016.

“Dr. Woo brings a record of outstanding scholarship, a commitment to preparing women and men for ministry in its many forms, and deep understanding of the context of that ministry in North America—exactly the balance needed in theological education today,” said the Rev. Dr. David Esterline, president and professor of cross-cultural theological education at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. “We are excited to welcome Dr. Woo to the Seminary community and know that we will benefit from his gifts and presence among us.”

Woo currently serves as the historian and archivist of Duke University Divinity School. He has taught at Duke Divinity School, Redeemer Theological Seminary, and the College of New Jersey. Additionally, he is a regular instructor for the United Methodist Church’s Course of Study program for ordained ministry. From 2014-2015 Woo served as the doctoral fellow for research and education with the Religion in North Carolina project, an initiative led by Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University dedicated to documenting the diverse history of religion and religious bodies in a single state.

Woo received his Th.D. in the history of Christianity (Reformation studies) from Duke University Divinity School, his M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary, and his B.A. in English from the College of William & Mary. His dissertation examines the complex ways in which John Calvin and his followers employed theological polemic against religious dissimulation to establish and enforce social and ecclesial boundaries in a variety of 16th-century contexts.

Beyond the European reformations, Woo’s primary research interests span the development of the Reformed tradition, the intersection of biblical interpretation and church history, historical religious responses to persecution and mass migration, and Asian-American history and theology. His most recent publication is “The House of God in Exile: Reassessing John Calvin's Approach to Nicodemism in Quatre sermons (1552),” which appeared in Church History and Religious Culture (2015). Woo’s work has been published in Concordia Theological Quarterly and Sixteenth Century Journal. His conference activity includes presentations at the Sixteenth Century Society Conference, the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, and the Calvin Studies Society Colloquium.

A Minister of Word and Sacrament, Woo’s ministry experience includes serving Presbyterian churches in New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina. Prior to seminary, he was a campus minister to students at Princeton University and Towson University. Woo served for six years as associate pastor of Grace Christian Church, a multicultural congregation just outside Washington, DC.