An eBay seller who has sold more than 774 items online, including Communion silver and historical church artifacts dating to the late 19th centuries, may have marketed items belonging to the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Trinity Cathedral without their authorization, according to a buyer who belongs to a community of church archivists.
“I unwittingly purchased some of these items in order to give them back altruistically to the diocese, as they appeared to be on the open market—only to discover they were being sold from the dean’s own residence,” the buyer said, asking not to be named for this story.
The buyer shared with The Living Church a completed eBay transaction from December 20, 2025, and a USPS mailing label from the package he received. The return address reflects Smith’s home address, consistent with publicly available records, but was under his wife’s name.
Among items the eBay seller had sold were a memorial service program for a 1912 service held at Trinity for victims of the Titanic (purchased for $406), a signed letter by Union General George Meade from 1872 ($499), and a 1908 invitation from King Edward VII of England to the Rt. Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead, the second Bishop of Pittsburgh, who served from 1882 until his death in 1922. The invitation sold for $175.
The buyer lodged a complaint with eBay about the account, which is still active, and informed diocesan staff, including Bishop Ketlen Solak, about the matter. In a response to the buyer’s email on January 8, Solak said she had “received a plausible explanation that does not indicate any intentional wrongdoing.” She added that the diocese would continue to investigate the matter “until I have full satisfaction that it is, indeed, the case and that proper care is being given to the archives of Trinity Cathedral.”
In messages to cathedral parishioners and the diocese, Solak wrote that Smith has been on leave since late January. On February 27, the 42-year-old church leader—who began working at Trinity in 2019 as provost—was arrested and charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property. According to an Associated Press report, Smith was arrested as he was leaving a Walmart in Economy Borough, just outside Pittsburgh, with 27 packs of baseball cards hidden under his clothing and in a cardboard box.
He was detained overnight and released after posting $50,000 bail.
News of Smith’s arrest began circulating in early March. In a message to Trinity’s parishioners on March 14, Solak said Smith had since resigned from his post. She added that Smith’s being placed on administrative leave earlier this year was “prompted by an ongoing investigation into questions we received at the end of December and beginning of January suggesting that he may have failed to safeguard the property of the church.”
Last month, Title IV proceedings began against Smith. Title IV addresses claims against bishops, priests, or deacons who may have engaged in conduct constituting an offense under church canons.
“While the civic charges related to Aidan’s arrest for retail theft are entirely separate from allegations that he failed to safeguard church property, the two matters will proceed as one Title IV case,” Solak said. Smith remains a canonical resident of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Asked whether the items sold online were stolen and what steps the diocese is taking to recover them, a diocesan spokesperson declined to comment.
‘Something’s Not Right Here’
On July 3, 2025, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe reflected on how American history is significantly intertwined with the life and story of the Episcopal Church. “We were once the church of the Founding Fathers and presidents—34 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were members of what became our church after the Revolution, and 11 presidents, including George Washington, have professed our faith,” Rowe said.
The Episcopal Church’s first General Convention was held in 1785, just nine years after the Declaration of Independence was ratified. Considering the church’s enduring presence in the country for more than two centuries, archives serve as a means to preserve records about the life of a parish or diocese.
Susan Stonesifer, who has served as historiographer of the Diocese of Washington for the past 20 years, said that church archives and historical documents are a significant “opportunity to share family stories.” Sometimes these stories are not only reflected in documents but engraved in the silver the church has used over the years.
“There could be a donor who wants to give it in memory of or in thanksgiving for [someone],” said Bryan Marshall, who had a 50-year career working for J. Wippell & Co. Ltd., an organization known for vestments, robes, and clerical clothing for churches, cathedrals, and universities. It was also prominent in installing stained-glass windows and selling church silver.
“So, you know, Mrs. Smith might have just lost her husband and said, ‘I want to give this in memory of John.’”
Church silver costs a lot, Marshall said, and often “there might be a dedication on the chalice, perhaps on the underside, which might say ‘In loving memory of.’” The cost of a chalice or other silver is usually underwritten by someone as a memorial, which makes the gift “a very sacred situation, actually.”
It is one of the reasons why the eBay account linked to Smith’s home address drew the attention of church archives professionals. In November 2025, it sold a sterling silver tea set—that had been used in the cathedral for a century—for more than $2,000. It also sold a silver holy water cruet and a chalice made by Tiffany & Co. in 1881 ($489). In a tally provided by the buyer to The Living Church, there were at least a dozen pieces of church silver sold by the eBay seller in 2025 alone.
“People in the archives world, we chat,” said another member of the church archivists community who asked not to be named. He said they usually exchange notes on what is available in auction catalogs, as auctions are the usual platforms for selling historical pieces.
“So you know, it’s one thing to see a seller have one chalice, but when a seller has about 16 at a time, people start to notice,” he said. The eBay seller had more than a dozen pieces of silver listed at a time, and the archivist said he was only one of a few people who thought “Something’s not right here.”
John Wallace, a lay leader in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and secretary to the convention, describes himself as an armchair collector of ecclesiastical memorabilia. He learned of the eBay account from the archivists community and said that, when put to a sniff test, the seller “felt extremely fishy to me.” He also said, similar to comments by archivists and collectors TLC spoke to, that the price of the silver was well below market value.
Wallace said he too had mentioned the issue to diocesan leaders in early January and was told they were aware of the situation. As the investigation continues, it remains unknown how or why the dean and his wife allegedly sold the church artifacts without the diocese’s consent and why it took outsiders to notice what was missing.
Asked whether the issue might be due to carelessness, Stonesifer responded, “I don’t know that that is a term I would use. I would hope that whoever is managing those items for the cathedral or for the diocese does take care. But again, if someone who has the power, has access, and is not taking care, they are the careless one.”
Considering the work of an archivist or historian, tracking inventory can be an overwhelming task. Stonesifer is processing a portion of the postcards received by the diocese after the sermon of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of Washington the day after the inauguration in 2025, when she appealed directly to President Donald Trump on behalf of marginalized and vulnerable communities, went viral. Budde received more than 20,000 letters and postcards.
TLC has sought comment from Smith’s wife and his attorney.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga is The Living Church’s Episcopal Church reporter. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Broadview Magazine, and Presbyterian Outlook, among other publications.
