Peter Selby serves as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in the United Kingdom. He was a student at the Episcopal Theological School (now Episcopal Divinity School) in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1964 to 1966, the period of the civil rights marches, and the time when his fellow-student Jonathan Daniels was killed. When that happened Peter was an intern chaplain at San Quentin Prison in California, a time he associates with his continuing interest in prison work; his duties now include serving as Bishop to Prisons in England and Wales.

Before coming to Worcester he held a research professorship in applied Christian theology at Durham University, where he wrote "Grace and Mortgage," an account of credit and debt and their impact on our understanding of Christian faith. Before going to Durham in 1992 he had been bishop suffragan of Kingston, responsible for the south-western part of London, an area of enormous cultural diversity and challenge.

He continues his research interest in the Christian understanding of money and its power. He is a patron of Changing Attitude and a member of the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Sexuality, which are organisations seeking to facilitate reflection on the Christian understanding of sexuality.