Thomas Smail
Encyclopedia
Thomas 'Tom' Allan Smail (b. 1928) was a leading theologian in the charismatic movement
in the United Kingdom. He studied under Karl Barth
, was ordained in 1953 as a Church of Scotland
minister, but later became an Anglican priest
.
He became secretary of the Fountain Trust
and took over as its director in 1975.
Tom Smail taught theology at St John's College Nottingham and then became Rector of All Saints, Sanderstead. He is currently in residence at St Barnabas College near Lingfield, Surrey where he continues to write.
His major works include:
Reflected Glory (1975)
The Forgotten Father (1980)
The Giving Gift: The Holy Spirit in Person (1994)
Charismatic Renewal: The Search for a Theology, with Andrew Walker and Nigel Wright (SPCK, 1994)
Once and for All: A Confession of the Cross (DLT, 1998)
Like Father, like Son: The Trinity Imagined in our Humanity (2006)
In The Giving Gift, Smail proposed a revision to the so-called "filioque clause
" in the Nicene Creed
. Where the Creed states that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son", implying the subordination of the Spirit to the Son (Jesus Christ), Smail suggested a two-way relationship between Son and Spirit.
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
in the United Kingdom. He studied under Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
, was ordained in 1953 as a Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
minister, but later became an Anglican priest
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
.
He became secretary of the Fountain Trust
Fountain Trust
The Fountain Trust was an ecumenical agency formed in the UK in 1964 to promote the charismatic renewal. The trust operated on the principle that it was the purpose of the Holy Spirit to "renew the historic churches". D...
and took over as its director in 1975.
Tom Smail taught theology at St John's College Nottingham and then became Rector of All Saints, Sanderstead. He is currently in residence at St Barnabas College near Lingfield, Surrey where he continues to write.
His major works include:
Reflected Glory (1975)
The Forgotten Father (1980)
The Giving Gift: The Holy Spirit in Person (1994)
Charismatic Renewal: The Search for a Theology, with Andrew Walker and Nigel Wright (SPCK, 1994)
Once and for All: A Confession of the Cross (DLT, 1998)
Like Father, like Son: The Trinity Imagined in our Humanity (2006)
In The Giving Gift, Smail proposed a revision to the so-called "filioque clause
Filioque clause
Filioque , Latin for "and the Son", is a phrase found in the form of Nicene Creed in use in the Latin Church. It is not present in the Greek text of the Nicene Creed as originally formulated at the First Council of Constantinople, which says only that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father":The...
" in the Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
. Where the Creed states that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son", implying the subordination of the Spirit to the Son (Jesus Christ), Smail suggested a two-way relationship between Son and Spirit.