Livingstone held a Master of Arts degree from the University of Oxford and a Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity.
[1] Livingstone was co-editor with Frank Leslie Cross of the first edition of The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church in 1957 and continued as editor of later editions after Cross's death in 1968.
[3] Following Cross's death, Livingstone, previously his assistant, organised the Oxford International Conferences on Patristic Studies from 1969 to 1995, and also edited the record of the proceedings published as Studia Patristica.
[5] In the 1986 New Year Honours, Livingstone was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for "services to Patristic Studies".
[7][8] Livingstone was an Honorary Fellow of St Stephen's House, Oxford.