Peter J. Leithart (born 1959) is an American author, minister, theologian and president of Theopolis Institute for Biblical, Liturgical, & Cultural Studies in Birmingham, Alabama. Leithart blogs at Peter J. Leithart, which is hosted by the journal First Things. He previously served as Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature as well as Dean of Graduate Studies at New Saint Andrews College. He was selected by the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education to be one of the organization's 2010-2012 Lecturers. He is the author of commentaries on the Book of Kings and the Book of Samuel, as well as a Survey of the Old Testament. Other works include books on topics such as Dante's Inferno, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen. He is also the author of a book of children's bedtime stories titled Wise Words based on the Book of Proverbs.
Leithart was ordained a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. In June 2011, Leithart was tried by his presbytery for heresy related to his views regarding the Federal Vision. In October 2011 he was exonerated on all charges. Following his move to Birmingham in 2013, the presbytery with jurisdiction there denied his request to labor out of bounds (in a ministry not connected to the PCA) at Theopolis Institute. He is now a minister in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches.