SMITH, FR. DAVID

Fr. David Smith was born January 19, 1959 in Syracuse, NY.  His education was at Drew University (BA), Asbury Theological Seminary (MDiv), and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (DMin).  He and Presbytera Donna, also a Syracuse native, married in 1983, and became Orthodox in 1988.  They have four children, Caleb (married to Tanja), Jesse (married to Yasmine), Ana (married to Shaun), and Lucy (married to Ryan), and one granddaughter, Zoe.  Presbytera Donna is an iconographer and an avid gardener.

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​Fr. David was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Antoun (Antiochian) and served as an Antiochian priest from 1991 until 2009, when he was received into the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit.  He pastored Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church in London, Ontario from 1991-1997, and St. George Orthodox Church in Utica, NY from 1997-2006.  In 2005, he took a leave of absence, becoming licensed as a Nursing Home Administrator and operating two nursing homes, one in Rochester, NY and one in Athens, PA.  In 2010, Metropolitan NICHOLAS assigned Fr. David and Presbytera Donna to St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church in Syracuse, NY.
 
Fr. David was the first director of Camp Transfiguration, the Antiochian diocese of Ottawa’s summer camp in Montreal.  He also directed a summer camp as a Protestant pastor, and loves to see young people grow in their faith at summer camp.
 
He is the author of three books, “Mary, Worthy of all Praise” (Conciliar Press; 2003), “Christianity and Pleasure” (Regina Orthodox Press; 2008), and "Help! I'm Bored in Church" (Ancient Faith; 2014), and enjoys writing, hockey, and golf.