The Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith PhD MA[1]
Bishop of St Albans
Bishop Smith (August 2011)
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of St Albans
Enthroned	2009
Predecessor	The Rt Revd Christopher Herbert
Other posts	Bishop of Shrewsbury (2001–2009) Archdeacon of Stoke (1997-2001)
Orders
Ordination	1981
Consecration	2001
Personal details
Born	) 14 February 1957 (age 56)
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Residence	Abbey Gate House, St Albans
Alma mater	University of Birmingham

Alan Gregory Clayton Smith (born 14 February 1957) is the current Bishop of St Albans,^[1] and formerly area Bishop of Shrewsbury.^[2]

He was born the son of Frank Eric Smith (deceased) and Rosemary Clayton Smith (née Barker) and educated at Trowbridge Grammar School for Boys and the University of Birmingham where he obtained a degree in Theology. He was also awarded a MA for his thesis 'The Poetic Art of the Hebrew Prophets' in 1979 .^[3] He trained for the priesthood at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

After ordination in 1981 in Bradford Cathedral he began his career as assistant curate at St Lawrence and St Paul Pudsey.^[4] In 1984 he took up the post as Chaplain of the Lee Abbey Community, near Lynton in North Devon,^[5] where had particular responsibility for mission and the creative arts. In 1989 he was appointed as the Diocesan Missioner for Lichfield^[6] and finally in 1997 (before his elevation to the Episcopate)^[7] Archdeacon of Stoke.^[8] While Archdeacon he was chaired the North Staffordshire Faiths in Friendship. In 2001 he was consecrated the Bishop of Shrewsbury (one of the suffragan sees in the Diocese of Lichfield). He was chair of the Shropshire Strategic Partnership from 2006-2009. and was a member of the Rural Bishops' Panel from 2006-2009. In 2002 he completed his PhD as an external student of the University of Wales (Bangor).^[8] For Lent 2006 Smith committed himself to living on the minimum wage.^[9]

His election as Bishop of St Albans by the College of Canons of the Cathedral took place on 13 February, and the Confirmation of Election with the Archbishop of Canterbury followed on 31 March. Smith's inauguration took place on 19 September 2009.^[10]

From 2009 to 2011 he was joint chairman of the Anglican Methodist Working Party on the Ecclesiology of the Emerging Expression of Church. He has contributed chapters to Changing Rural Life (2004) and Celebrating Community: God's Gift for Today's World (2006). He has written Growing up in Multi-faith Britain: Explorations in Youth, Ethnicity and Religion (2007) and God-Shaped Mission: A Perspective from the Rural Church (2008), and co-authored The Reflective Leader (2011).

Styles

• Alan Smith Esq (1957–1981)
• The Revd Alan Smith (1981–1997)
• The Ven Alan Smith (1997–2001)
• The Rt Revd Alan Smith (2001–2002)
• The Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith (2002—)

Notes

Church of England titles
Preceded by David Hallatt	Bishop of Shrewsbury 2001–2009	Succeeded by Mark Rylands
Preceded by Christopher Herbert	Bishop of St Albans 2009—	Incumbent