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The Prayer Book observances include
the (November 14) Consecration of Samuel Seabury
as the first Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United
States. Son of a Congregational
minister and elected in his native Connecticut following the American
Revolution, he was consecrated in Aberdeen on November 14, 1784 by bishops in
Scotland - because he could not take the Oath of Allegiance to the British
Monarchy required by the bishops of the Church of England. An astute
organizer and administrator, Bishop Seabury made
several contributions to the first American revisions of the Church
of England Prayer Book.
At various times of his life (1729-96) prior to his consecration, he studied
theology at Yale and medicine at Edinburgh, was a missionary in New
Brunswick, served as a chaplain to British troops, ministered in New York and
New Jersey, and wrote (under the pen name A. W. Farmer) opposing American
independence.
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