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Photo of Rev. Dr. John A. Vissers

Rev. Dr. John A. Vissers

Professor of Historical Theology
john.vissers@utoronto.ca
416-978-4511

Rev. Dr. John Vissers will be on sabbatical for the 23-24 academic year. Students interested in supervision should connect with Dr. Christine Mitchell, Academic Dean.

Areas of graduate student supervision

  • Calvin’s theology (ethics, baptismal spirituality, and eucharist)
  • Peter Martyr Vermigli’s soteriology
  • P. T. Forsyth’s ecumenical ecclesiology
  • Calvin’s doctrine of union with Christ

John joined the Knox Faculty in 2013 and was the College’s Principal between June 2017 and September 2022.

John is interested in the history and theology of the Reformed tradition and its significance for the church in a global context today. He teaches and writes widely in the areas of Reformed theology, spiritual formation, and theological interpretation of the Bible. His areas of academic research and writing focus on the theologies of John Calvin and Karl Barth, Trinitarian theology, Reformed spirituality, and Canadian Protestant theology in the 19th and 20th centuries.

John is an ordained minister of The Presbyterian Church in Canada and a member of the Presbytery of Oak Ridges. In 2012-2013, he served as Moderator of the 138th General Assembly of the PCC. Previously he served as Principal of the Presbyterian College, Montreal at McGill University (1999-2013); Senior Minister at Knox Church, Toronto (1995-1999); and Professor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale Seminary (1987-1995).

John is a graduate of the University of Toronto (B.A.), Knox College (M.Div.), Princeton Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and the Toronto School of Theology (Th.D.). In 2012 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in sacred theology (D.D.) from the Montreal Diocesan Theological College affiliated with McGill University for his contributions to Reformed theology and ecumenical theological education.

Publications:

Books

  • The Neo-Orthodox Theology of W.W. Bryden, Cambridge: James Clarke and Company, 2011, 284 pp. plus index. (Originally published in The Princeton Theological Monograph Series, No. 56, Pickwick Press, 2006.) Awarded the Rev. Dr. Melville T. Bailey Academic History Prize by the Committee on History of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, 2007.

Edited Books

  • Calvin @ 500: Theology, History, and Practice. Co-Edited with Richard R. Topping. Pickwick Publications, 2011, 182 pp.; sole author of introduction.Editor, Presbyterian College Studies in Theology and Ministry, Volumes 1 and 2, Clements Academic, Toronto (Volume 1: Understanding the Faith: Essays in Philosophical Theology, Joseph C. McLelland, 2007, 254 pp.; Volume 2: Exploring the Faith: Essays in the History and Theology of the Reformed Tradition, William J. Klempa, 2011, 373 pp.); sole author of editor’s preface in both volumes.

    Studies in Canadian Evangelical Renewal: Essays in Honour of Ian S. Rennie. Co-Edited with Kevin Quast. Toronto: Faith Today Publications, 1996, 246 pp. contributed a chapter.

Articles in Academic Journals (R)

  • “Visser t’Hooft ,1900-1985: Living for the Unity of the Church,” Jurjen Zeilstra (Article/Book Review), The Journal of Netherlandic Studies (Canadian Association for the Advancement of Netherlandic Studies), Volume 42, Issue 1, Summer 2022, 105-112. (R)
  • “A Serious Playfulness: The Theological Legacy of Joseph C. McLelland,” Toronto Journal of Theology, Volume 34 Issue 1, Spring 2018, 129-134 (R)
  • “Continuous Conversion: The Reform of the Church as Ecumenical Task,” Pro Ecclesia, vol. 26, 1, February 1, 2017, 45-48. (R)
  • “Calvin and Canadian Calvinism: The Thought and Influence of W.W. Bryden,” Faith Matters in Changing Times, Edited by Bradley McLean, Toronto Journal of Theology, Supplement 1, 2015, 5-16.  (R)   
  • “Karl Barth’s Appreciative Use of Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics,” Calvin Theological Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1, April 2010, 79-86 (R)
  • “Walter W. Bryden on the Theology of Preaching,” ARC, The Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Volume 33, 2005, 419-430 (R)
  • “True Preachers Preaching Truly: The Goal of Preaching in the Reformed Tradition,” co-written with W.J. Clyde Ervine, Didaskalia, Volume 15, No.1, Fall 2003, 29-46 (R)
  • “Interpreting the Classic: The Hermeneutical Character of David Tracy’s Theology in The Analogical Imagination,” Calvin Theological Journal, Volume 25, No.2, 1990, 194-206 (R)
  • “W.W. Bryden and the Reformed Protestant Tradition in Canada,” Toronto Journal of Theology, Volume 6, No.1, 1990, 70-85. (R)

Chapters in Multi-Author Volumes (Invited)

  • “The Teaching of Karl Barth on the Barmen Theological Declaration in the Church Dogmatics,” Political Theology in the History of the Church, edited by Michael Haykin, forthcoming 2023.
  • “The Value of CD 1 for Spiritual Formation,” in Marty Folsom, Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics For Everyone: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners & Pros. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2022, 263-265.
  •  “The Reformed Tradition in Canada,” Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions, Ninth edition.  Volume 2. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2017.
  • “Trinitarian Imagination in a Secular Age,” Between the Lectern and the Pulpit: Essays in Honour of Victor A. Shepherd, Edited by Rob Clements & Dennis Ngien. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2014, 197-213.
  • “Reformed (Calvinist) Spirituality,” Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, Edited by Glen G. Scorgie, Zondervan Academic, 2011, 710-712.
  • “The Theological Contribution of W.W. Bryden,” Introduction to a new edition of W.W. Bryden’s The Christian’s Knowledge of God, Cambridge: James Clarke and Company, 2011, vii-xviii.
  • “Baptism in the Reformed Tradition,” Baptism: Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives. Edited by Gordon L. Heath and James D. Dvorak. McMaster Theological Studies Series, Pickwick Publications, 2011, 76-110.
  • “The Holy Spirit and the Church in Modern Canadian Protestantism,” Semper Reformandum: Studies in Honour of Clark H. Pinnock, Editors, Stanley E. Porter and Anthony R. Cross, Paternoster Press, 2003, 232-246.
  • “The Knowledge of God and of Ourselves in Psalm 19,” Teach Me Your Paths: Studies in Old Testament Literature and Theology. Edited by John Kessler and Jeffrey P. Greenman. Toronto: Clements Publishing, 2001, 39-70.
  • “Jesus and the Cross: the meaning of salvation,” Who is Jesus? A Reformed View, Toronto: Presbyterian Record, 2000, 36-45. Originally published in the Presbyterian Record, Volume CXXIV, No.4, March 2000, 14-19.
  • “The Pastor as Church Historian: Reflections on Canadian Presbyterian History Since 1925,” Studies in Canadian Evangelical Renewal: Essays in Honour of Ian S. Rennie, Edited by Kevin Quast and John Vissers. Faith Today Publications: 1996, 210-227.
  • “Recovering the Reformation Conception of Revelation: The Theological Contribution of Walter Williamson Bryden to Post-Union Canadian Presbyterianism,” The Burning Bush and a Few Acres of Snow, Edited by William J. Klempa. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1994, 239-258.
  • “The Unique Christ in the Diversity and Unity of the Church’s Understanding: Toward a Recovery of the Identity of Jesus and the Identity of the Church in a Postmodern World,” The Unique Christ in our Pluralistic World, Edited by Bruce J. Nichols. Baker Books and Paternoster Press, 1994. Also published in Korean in The Church, Ministry and Theology, No. 10, 1992.