After discerning his avocation towards priesthood, he studied spirituality at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary[REF] in Columbia, South Carolina which in 1945[REF] awarded him a graduate degree in divinity, Bachelor of Divinity (B.
After Peery's stint as an Administrator at the ecumenical Inter-Church Service Agency, he enrolled as a doctoral candidate at the Duke University,[REF] Durham, North Carolina and submitted a dissertation entitled A Christian understanding of south Indian Vaishnavism[REF] enabling the University to award a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1972 [REF].