Timothy Dudley-Smith | |
---|---|
Bishop of Thetford | |
Diocese | Norwich |
In office | 1981–1992 |
Predecessor | Hugh Blackburne |
Successor | Hugo de Waal |
Other post(s) |
Honorary assistant bishop in
Salisbury (1992–present) Archdeacon of Norwich (1973–1981) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1950 (deacon); 1951 (priest) |
Consecration | 1981 |
Personal details | |
Born |
Manchester, England | 26 December 1926
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglican |
Parents | Arthur and Phyllis Dudley-Smith |
Spouse |
Arlette MacDonald
(
m. 1959; died 2007) |
Children | 3 |
Profession | Bishop, hymnist |
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
Timothy Dudley-Smith OBE (born 26 December 1926) is a retired bishop of the Church of England and a noted hymnwriter. He has written around 400 hymns, including " Tell Out, my Soul".
Dudley-Smith was born on 26 December 1926 in Manchester, England, to Phyllis and Arthur Dudley-Smith. His father was a schoolteacher. [1] He was educated at Tonbridge School before studying maths and then theology at Pembroke College, Cambridge. [1] After graduating in 1947, he began his ordination training at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. [2] He was ordained deacon in 1950 and priest in 1951 by Christopher Chavasse, the Bishop of Rochester. [1]
After ordination, Dudley-Smith served as an honorary chaplain to Chavasse, as well as head of the Cambridge University Mission in Bermondsey, South London. [1] In 1955, he was appointed editorial secretary of the Evangelical Alliance and editor of the new Crusade magazine, created after Billy Graham's 1954 London mission. [2] [1] Dudley-Smith also began serving with the Church Pastoral Aid Society, serving as assistant secretary from 1959, then as secretary until 1973. [1] He served as Archdeacon of Norwich from 1973 to 1981 and as Bishop of Thetford from 1981 to 1991. [1] He also served as president of the Evangelical Alliance from 1987 to 1992. [3] He was chairman of the governors of Monkton Combe School from 1992 to 1997. [4]
He married Arlette MacDonald in 1959. They were married for 48 years until her death in 2007; they had one son and two daughters. [1] His son, James, is also ordained in the Church of England, and currently serves as rector of St John's Church, Yeovil. [5]
Dudley-Smith has been part of what has been described as a British "hymn explosion" since World War II. [6]
Dudley-Smith is a member and honorary vice-president of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland; he has also been awarded fellowships from the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and the Royal School of Church Music. [7] In 2003, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for services to hymnody". [7] In July 2009 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Durham University. [8]