The Reverend Canon Brian Cox is the Rector Emeritus of Christ the King Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara, California, Senior Vice President of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy in Washington D.C., and Director of the PACIS Project in Faith-Based Diplomacy of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. In 2001 he was named an Honorary Canon of the Diocese of Los Angeles in recognition of his faith-based reconciliation work in the national church and in international conflict situations. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He received his B.S. in Geological Sciences at the University of Southern California and his Master of Divinity from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received a Master of Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law and is a trained professional mediator. In 1975 he was ordained an Episcopal priest, and since then he has served congregations in Southern California and Northern Virginia. He and his spouse Ann married in 1973 and have two adult children, Clare and John, and three grandchildren.

A cradle Episcopalian, his relationship with Jesus Christ has been profoundly affected by involvement in such renewal movements as Cursillo, Faith Alive, Marriage Encounter, SOMA, and Kairos. The three most important things to know about him are his love for Jesus Christ, his heart as a pastor and his passion for Christ's work of reconciliation.