Barkley Thompson

The Very Reverend Barkley S. Thompson MA, MDiv
Dean of Christ Church Cathedral (Houston, Texas)
Thompson at Christ Church Cathedral's Lenten Lecture Series in March 2014
In office	February 2013–present
Other posts	Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles (Collierville, TN), 2003-2007 Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church (Roanoke, VA), 2007-2013
Personal details
Birth name	Barkley Stuart Thompson
Born	November 17, 1972 Paragould, Arkansas
Nationality	American
Denomination	Episcopal Church (USA)
Residence	Houston, Texas
Alma mater	Hendrix College University of Chicago Divinity School Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest

Barkley Stuart Thompson (born 1972) is a priest in the Episcopal Church who currently serves as the Eighth Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas. Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral church for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Thompson was born on November 17, 1972 in Paragould, Arkansas. He is the younger brother of Robert F. Thompson, a former member of the Arkansas state senate. Thompson was raised a Methodist, with his early formation in the United Methodist Church contributing to his vocation to pastoral ministry. While in college, Thompson was encouraged to visit a local Episcopal parish church by one of his college professors. About his experience of walking into the church, Thompson has said, "The moment I crossed the threshold from narthex to nave, I had a deep sense that I had come home". He joined the Episcopal Church shortly thereafter, which he has described as combining "the Methodist theology of hospitality and grace" with "Catholic sacramental and liturgical worship".

Thompson graduated with a BA, magna cum laude, from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas in 1995, where he also received the college’s President’s Medal, presented to the student who best exemplifies the school’s highest ideals. Thompson went on to earn an MA degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1998. His oral defense paper was entitled, "Toward a Christology of Purpose: The Early Royce and the Incarnation." Thompson later earned the Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. Currently, Thompson serves on the Seminary of the Southwest’s Board of Trustees.