Brian Arthur Smith (born 15 August 1943) was the
Bishop of Edinburgh
The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.
Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews ...
in the
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland.
A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...
.
Life and career
Early life and education
Smith was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and educated at
George Heriot's School, Edinburgh[ Who’s Who 2008 (London, ]A & C Black
A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels.
History
The firm was founded in 18 ...
, 2008 ) He attended the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, graduating with an MA in Mental Philosophy in 1966. At graduation he was awarded the Skirving Scholarship and Gold Medal in Moral Philosophy. He then moved to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
to study theology as a member of Westcott House and
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...
. Following his graduation in theology (MA) he was elected to a Lady Kay Scholarship by
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
and from there later graduated as Master of Letters (MLitt).
Ordained ministry
Smith was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
deacon in 1973
[ Crockfords On line- accessed Saturday 21 April 2008, 20:09] in the Diocese of Oxford. He began his ordained ministry with a
curacy
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
at
Church of All Saints, Cuddesdon
The Church of All Saints is a Church of England parish church in Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire. The church is a grade I listed building and it dates from the 12th century.
History
Abingdon Abbey founded the parish in Cuddesdon in about AD 1180. The chu ...
, with responsibilities for teaching Christian doctrine at Cuddesdon College. Following the merger of Cuddesdon College with Ripon Hall, Oxford, Smith became director of studies and then senior tutor in the united college - Ripon College Cuddesdon. In 1979 he moved to the Diocese of Wakefield taking up responsibility for the parish of St John the Baptist in the Wilderness, Cragg Vale, alongside responsibility for the in-service training of clergy in the diocese. To this was later added responsibility in the field of lay training. He became
director of training in the
Diocese of Wakefield
The Diocese of Wakefield is a former Church of England diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covering Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale. The cathedral was Wakefield Cathedral and the bishop was the diocesan Bishop of Wakef ...
. During this time Smith continued to exercise responsibilities as examiner in Christian doctrine for the General Ordination Examinations of the Church of England, and was an inspector (later senior inspector) of the church's theological colleges and courses. In 1985 he was elected to the General Synod of the Church of England, by the clergy of the Wakefield diocese. In 1987 he was appointed
Archdeacon of Craven in the Diocese of Bradford, and in 1993 was appointed
Bishop of Tonbridge
The Bishop of Tonbridge is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Tonbridge, a market town in Kent; the see was erected ...
in the Diocese of Rochester. He was translated to the
episcopal see
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
of Edinburgh, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, in 2001.
He retired as Bishop of Edinburgh on 15 August 2011.
During his ministry Smith had occasion to pay several visits to Africa (Ghana, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Swaziland, S Africa, Botswana) and was instrumental in establishing a link between the Diocese of Edinburgh and the Diocese of Cape Coast in Ghana. He was also actively involved in the early days of the Porvoo Agreement between British Anglicans and Scandinavian and Baltic Lutherans.
Smith was a director of the ''Scottish Journal of Theology'' (1977–81), vice-chairman of the Northern Ordination Course (1985–93), chairman of Churches Together in Kent (1999-2001) and continues to be a vice-president of Modern Church (2009-present). He served on the Scotland Committee of UNESCO (2008-2015) and on UNESCO UK Memory of the World Committee (2009-2017). He was a director of Waverley Care (2002-2011), a governor of Loretto School (2012-2017) and a trustee of St Mary's Music School (2009-2017). In the years 2013 and 2015 he acted a voluntary lecturer in theology at St Augustine's Theological School, Botswana. In 2017 he was invited to join the business committee of the general council of the University of Edinburgh. On 10 July 2018 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity by the University of Edinburgh.
Personal life
Smith lists his personal interests as
snorkelling,
short-wave radio
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 m ...
listening, and browsing in junk shops. He is married with two daughters and has three grandsons.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brian
1943 births
Clergy from Edinburgh
People educated at George Heriot's School
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Archdeacons of Craven
Bishops of Tonbridge
Bishops of Edinburgh
20th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops
21st-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops
Living people
Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge