Samuel Seamans (born 1967) was an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Mid-America of the

Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member of the ...

and the

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until he and his parish decided to join the Orthodox Church in November 2015. He is a priest in good standing in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church USA. He is the rector of St. Thomas the Apostle Orthodox Church in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Seamans is a licensed

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and

Emergency Medical Technician An emergency medical technician (often, more simply, EMT) is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and som ...

Ministry

During college Seamans was employed as a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

and completed the police academy in 1987. After graduation he moved to Mountain Home,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and went to work with the Mountain Home Police department where he eventually served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

before retiring in 2011.http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20090327/NEWS01/903270350/-1/NEWS17 Seamans states he felt a growing desire to fulfill a vacuum in his spiritual life and in 1997 he began to study church history and liturgy. Then, he states, he found a historical, ancient expression of Christianity in the Anglican tradition. In November 2015 he became Orthodox.

History

Seamans then continued to serve under Arkansas Episcopal bishop Larry Maze, but left the Episcopal Church three years later because of its social and theological liberalism, as well as what he describes as "its departure from the norms that Holy Scripture lays out for the Christian life and ministry".http://conservativesam.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html Anglican Priest Blames Episcopal Church's Problems on Departure from Scripture 2006-07-25 -- WDC Media (via AgapePress)

Episcopal priest controversy

In November 2009, Seamans gained international notice by exposing an

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liturgy used by an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

priest in

Harrison, Arkansas The city of Harrison is the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek (Arkansas), Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Cen ...

.VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Episcopal Priest Praises Mohammed, Vishnu, Buddha, Confucius in Liturgy
The liturgy "Praises

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Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

..." with the celebrant stating: "All you

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

saints; we praise you for holy are you ... All you

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saints, we praise you for holy are you ..." even calling on "All you Incas of Peru, holy Mayans and Aztecs of Mexico, all you Native children of the sun and stars ..." The Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas (TEC) supported the liturgy under the guise of "inter-faith dialogue".

Education

Seamans holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Liberal Arts, Master of Ministry Degree from Trinity Theological Seminary in Newburgh, Indiana, Th.M (Masters in Theology) from Cranmer Theological House (REC), and a Graduate Certificate from the Anglican School for Ministry in Anglican Studies, in addition to a Master of Divinity from Holy Resurrection Orthodox Seminary. He was ordained an Orthodox priest in February 2017. Seamans is conversant in

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, is a licensed pilot for single engine aircraft, and is a certified emergency medical technician. He is also a long distance cyclist and is very proud of his "Giant FCR 1 Flatbar Road Bike". He says, "I get most of my praying done while riding. I find it a very contemplative exercise which easily gives itself to prayer and meditation."

Career and family life

Seamans is a retired lieutenant from MHPD. He is married to a native of the

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and has two children.

Publications

* Introduction to ''Holy Communion and the Bible from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer'', BorderStone Press, LLC (2010). Editor Brian R. Mooney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seamans, Sam 21st-century Anglican bishops in the United States 1967 births Living people Baptists from Louisiana Trinity College and Seminary alumni People from Morgan City, Louisiana People from Mountain Home, Arkansas Baptists from Arkansas Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Anglicanism