Abp. Seraphim was born Kenneth William Storheim in Edmonton, Alberta on January 25, 1946, of Norwegian and Scottish parents, and was raised in the Lutheran church. Receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta, Seraphim also studied at the Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, British Columbia. A former Anglican rector and accomplished musician, he was received into the Orthodox Church in 1978, accepting as his heavenly patron St. Seraphim of Sarov. He then attended St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, where he graduated and received the Master of Theology degree in 1981.