Peter Beck

Peter J. Beck (born 1948) is an Anglican priest in New Zealand. He was the dean of ChristChurch Cathedral in Christchurch from 2002 until December 2011 when he resigned to contest a vacancy on Christchurch City Council in a 2012 by-election.

Born in England, Beck has been in New Zealand since 1981 and served in various positions in the Diocese of Auckland before moving to Christchurch. He knew the late Sir Edmund Hillary from his time in Auckland, is a board member of the Hillary Institute and spoke at the state funeral of Hillary in 2008.

England Beck was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, in 1948. He is a graduate of Oxford University and was ordained as a priest in 1973 in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, England. He served as a team vicar in the Banbury Parish.

New Zealand He emigrated to New Zealand in 1981 with his New Zealand-born wife and their three children. Here he developed an association with Sir Edmund Hillary and his wife June. Beck was asked by Lady Hillary to speak at the 2008 state funeral of her husband.

Dean of Christchurch Following the September earthquake Beck was invited to become the patron of CanCERN, a network of community groups advocating a stronger voice for local communities.

Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Beck made himself available to the media, and was widely quoted, with one in particular often cited:

The earthquake was not an act of God. The earthquake was the planet doing its thing the way the planet does. For me as a Christian, the act of God is in the love and compassion that people are sharing among each other.

Gareth Farr composed a memorial piece for the Christchurch earthquake, Nor'West Arch, first performed on 25 September 2011. The title makes reference to a particular Christchurch weather pattern, but is also that part of the ChristChurch Cathedral that received most damage in the earthquake. Beck was part of the performance, reading an introduction including the quotation above. The concert was one of the highlights of the 2011 Christchurch Arts Festival.

Resignation On 7 December 2011, it was revealed that Beck had resigned as dean. Disagreement between Beck and Bishop Victoria Matthews was cited as his reason for leaving.

Dean of Taranaki

In May 2016 Beck became Dean of Taranaki, a position he held for two years.

Personal life Beck is married to Gay and they have three adult children.