Smith was born on June 6, 1951 in Soap Lake, Washington, the son of Rev. Richard Smith and Harriet Smith. Rev. Richard served the Presbyterian Church National Headquarters in Manhattan, and Smith spent his childhood in New Jersey. In 1973 Smith moved to Phoenix, where he graduated from Arcadia High School in 1979. He was a graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon with a Bachelor of History, during that time he was received into the Episcopal Church. Smith went on to earn his Ph.D. in medieval church history from Cornell University in 1976, having spent an academic year at Oxford University studying and writing his thesis.
Ordinained Ministry
Smith studied for holy orders at the Berkeley Seminary at Yale, was deaconed in 1979, and ordained a priest in 1980, through the auspices of his home diocese of Arizona. Following ordination Smith served as a Curate for St. John’s West Hartford, Connecticut and as rector of St. Ann’s Old Lyme, Connecticut. In 1991 Smith, his wife and two children, moved to Los Angeles to serve as the Rector of St. James. During his tenure at St. James’ Church, Smith taught Anglican history at the Episcopal Seminary at Claremont, and served as Diocesan Ecumenical Officer. By 1996 Smith was remarried to Laura Fisher Smith, a graphic designer. In 2000 he was made a Canon of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Bishop
On October 18, 2003, he was elected Bishop of Arizona, the fifth bishop after the establishment of the diocese in 1959. He was consecrated on April 21, 2004 by Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. Smith received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in October 2005, from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. In 2013, Smith co-authored. along with three ecumenical bishops, Bishops on the Border: Pastoral Responses to Immigration about their common experiences with key immigration issues, especially those being played out in the state of Arizona. In 2018 Smith underwent surgery for a cancer dianosis. After 15 years as Bishop of Arizona, he retired on March 9, 2019, and now lives in Sedona, Arizona.
Personal life
Smith married Laura Fisher in 1996, he had two children, Jordan and Nathaniel, from a previous marriage. After retiring as Bishop of Arizona he taught church history at General Theological Seminary in New York City.
