Seminarian Fr. Seraphim Crossman

Fr. Seraphim Crossman was born and raised in rural Oregon. He studied philosophy for several years before earning a degree in English literature from a small liberal arts college. While living in Oregon, he and his family attended St. Anne’s Orthodox Church in Corvallis, where he sang in the choir. They later moved to Henderson, Texas, and became members of St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church in Tyler. There, Fr. Seraphim served in the altar and as a reader, while his wife and children were actively involved in parish life.

Discussing his path to seminary, Fr. Seraphim says his priest eventually encouraged him to consider seminary. After much prayer and thought—and, as he jokes, "trying to get out of it!"—he and his wife decided to move halfway across the country for a second time and found themselves at St. Tikhon’s. What began almost as an act of obedience has since grown into a deep desire to serve the Church with their whole lives.

Outside of seminary, Fr. Seraphim enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and four daughters, ages 6 to 13, walking the family dog, Dogma, writing The Great American Novel, and playing guitar whenever he can. He is also working on a thesis exploring the effects of logical positivism on theological thought and how a recovery of anagogical language can serve to mitigate those effects.

When asked what he loves about St. Tikhon's, Fr. Seraphim says: