The Rev. Dr. Lee Soo Tian is a faculty member in Church History and Christian Spirituality at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia and an ordained priest in the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia, serving at present at St Paul’s, Petaling Jaya. He grew up in Alor Setar, Kedah. His work focuses on integrating an awareness of the history of Christianity and the practices of historic Christian spirituality with our personal and communal lives as Christians today.
His first degree was a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Reading, UK. He then pursued doctoral studies in history and philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, completing his PhD in 2017. Returning to Malaysia, he worked in the diocesan office of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah, handling communications and research, before spending a year as a stay-at-home father while his wife, Hui-En, did her Master’s degree.
Soo Tian first felt a call to ordained ministry in 2014 and started his vocational discernment in England. Six years later he began his theological and ministerial formation, receiving a BA in Theology, Mission and Ministry from St Paul’s Theological College, KL in 2023, and an MA in Theology and Ministry from Cranmer Hall, Durham University in 2024. His Master’s thesis was on the history of the Community of the Good Shepherd, an order of Anglican nuns in Borneo. He was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 2024 and as a priest in 2025.
His research interests include Malaysian church history, the history of monastic and vowed religious life (especially in the Anglican tradition), as well as liturgical and contemplative spirituality. He is also passionate about the integration of monastic spirituality into the devotional life of laypeople and “secular” clergy.
His only published monograph thus far is an edited version of his PhD thesis, titled Rethinking the University: Structure, Critique, Vocation (Counterpress, 2018). Among his recent publications are More Calvinistic than Calvin?: Hardline Reformed Theology & the Malaysian Church (Faith Books, 2023), co-authored with Hwa Yung, Lee Tat Yan, and Lim Kar Yong; and “Necessity for the Creed in Our Anglican Liturgical Heritage and in Our Spiritual Life,” in 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea: Exposition of the Nicene Creed (STM & DWM, forthcoming in 2026).
Rev. Dr. Lee Soo Tian ialah ahli fakulti dalam Sejarah Gereja dan Kerohanian Kristian di Seminari Theoloji Malaysia serta seorang paderi Diosis Anglikan Malaysia Barat yang kini melayani di Gereja St Paul, Petaling Jaya. Beliau membesar di Alor Setar, Kedah. Kerjanya tertumpu pada mengintegrasikan kesedaran tentang sejarah gereja dan amalan kerohanian Kristian bersejarah dengan kehidupan peribadi dan kolektif kita sebagai orang Kristian hari ini.
Ijazah pertamanya ialah Sarjana Muda Undang-undang dari Universiti Reading, UK. Beliau kemudiannya melanjutkan pengajian kedoktoran dalam sejarah dan falsafah di Birkbeck College, Universiti London, dan mendapat ijazah PhDnya pada tahun 2017. Sekembalinya ke Malaysia, beliau melayani di pejabat pusat Diosis Anglikan Sabah, mengendalikan komunikasi dan penyelidikan, sebelum menjadi bapa sepenuh masa buat satu tahun sementara isterinya, Hui-En, melanjutkan pengajian Sarjananya.
Soo Tian mula-mula mendapat panggilan untuk pelayanan sepenuh masa pada tahun 2014. Enam tahun kemudian, beliau memulakan pembentukan teologi dan pelayanannya dan menerima ijazah BA dalam Teologi, Misi dan Pelayanan dari St Paul’s Theological College, KL pada tahun 2023, dan MA dalam Teologi dan Pelayanan dari Cranmer Hall, Universiti Durham pada tahun 2024. Tesis Sarjana beliau adalah mengenai sejarah Komuniti Gembala Baik (CGS), sebuah ordo biarawati Anglikan di Borneo. Beliau ditahbiskan sebagai seorang diakon Anglikan pada tahun 2024 dan sebagai paderi pada tahun 2025.
Minat penyelidikannya termasuklah sejarah gereja di Malaysia, sejarah kehidupan monastik dan religius Kristian (terutamanya dalam Gereja Anglikan), serta kerohanian liturgi dan kontemplatif. Beliau juga amat berminat dalam integrasi kerohanian monastik ke dalam doa dan devosi orang awam dan pastor “sekular”.
Satu-satunya monograf beliau yang diterbitkan setakat ini ialah versi tersunting tesis PhD beliau, bertajuk Rethinking the University: Structure, Critique, Vocation (Counterpress, 2018). Antara penerbitan terbaru beliau ialah More Calvinistic than Calvin?: Hardline Reformed Theology & the Malaysian Church (Faith Books, 2023), yang dikarang bersama Hwa Yung, Lee Tat Yan, dan Lim Kar Yong; dan “Necessity for the Creed in Our Anglican Liturgical Heritage and in Our Spiritual Life,” dalam 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea: Exposition of the Nicene Creed (STM & DWM, bakal diterbitkan pada tahun 2026).