Anglican & EpiscopalianConversion Stories

Dr. Richard Smith: Former Anglican Priest

August 8, 2011 No Comments

Dr. Richard Smith shares the details of his long journey from Anglicanism to Catholicism.  His father was an Episcopal priest and his mother, who had long roots in the Dutch Reformed/Presbyterian tradition, was a convert to Episcopalianism.  Dr. Smith was formed in the theology of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  In third grade he joined the choir, which shaped him devotionally and liturgically.   Away from the church for a period of time, Dr. Smith returned as a result of his college studies in philosophy.  He entered Harvard Divinity School and eventually became an ordained priest in the Anglican Church of Canada.  For twenty years Dr. Smith served the church in Canada and the US until being called to convert to Catholicism in 2001.  Today, Dr. Smith is a professor of Latin & Greek at Franciscan University of Steubenville.