The Rt. Rev. Dabney Tyler Smith was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Southwest Florida on Dec. 9, 2006. He was consecrated as a bishop on March 10, 2007 at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was seated as the fifth bishop of the diocese Sept. 15, 2007 at St. Peter's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, succeeding the Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb. (View a PDf file of the Southern Cross' coverage of Bishop Smith's consecration by clicking here).

Prior to his election, he had been rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, La., since January 2005. The church, with about 2,500 members and seven associate clergy, includes Trinity Episcopal School (pre-K through eighth grade with 329 students), and a counseling and training center.

Earlier he served at Holy Trinity in Melbourne, Fla; St. Michael and All Angels in South Bend, Ind.; and Grace Church in Port Orange, Fla. He earned a B.A. in broadcasting production from the University of South Florida, Tampa (1980); an M. Div. from Nashotah House, cum laude (1987); and a D. Min. from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary with special focus on congregational development (1999).

He currently serves the wider Church as chair of the Episcopal Church Building Fund. He is a member of the board of directors of the Dominican Development Group, the board of trustees of the University of the South and Nashotah House, and is a member of the House of Bishops Planning Committee.

Born in 1953, Bishop Smith grew up in Florida. He and his wife, Mary Ellen, married in 1975 and are the parents of three grown children, Ashton, Alicia and Dabney. They have three granddaughters. His hobbies include music (he played guitar and keyboards in various groups for many years), and reading history and biographies.

In post-Katrina New Orleans, he served on the Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative that exists to create desperately needed housing for hurricane victims. He was also on the steering committee of Common Good, a public partnership of faith-based, nonprofit, civic and higher-education organizations that brings the voice of the citizens of New Orleans to the table with the political and business sectors. He served on the Diocesan Rebuilding Committee for the Diocese of Louisiana and on the diocesan executive board.


Previous bishops of Southwest Florida:
1969–1975: William Loftin Hargrave
1975–1988: Emerson Paul Haynes
1989–1997: Rogers Sanders Harris
1997–2007: John Bailey Lipscomb