Hierarch 20th century

Saint Mardarije of Libertyville

1889 – 1935

Also known as Mardarije Uskokovic

The first Serbian Orthodox bishop in America and Canada, remembered for building church life and Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville.

Feast Day

December 12

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Commemorated as

Saint Mardarije, First Serbian Orthodox Bishop of America and Canada

Come to them for

Missionary Work

Life

Saint Mardarije (Uskokovic) was the first Serbian Orthodox Bishop of America and Canada and a central figure in the organization of Serbian church life on the North American continent. Born Ivan Uskokovic in 1889 in Montenegro, he received his theological formation in Russia, was sent to the United States in 1917 to gather and organize the scattered Serbian parishes, and was consecrated bishop in 1926. He is commemorated on December 12, the day of his repose.

Mardarije is especially remembered for founding and building Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, which became the spiritual center of the Serbian Orthodox community in America, and for convening the early diocesan assemblies that gave the American-Canadian diocese a stable institutional structure. Accounts of his life emphasize his personal labor and sacrifice in this missionary work.

He reposed on December 12, 1935, and was buried at the monastery he had founded. He was glorified as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2015. According to accounts of the glorification, his remains were found to be incorrupt when his grave was opened some eighty years after his death.

Timeline 8 moments Read Hide

1889 Birth Born Ivan Uskokovic in Montenegro.
1906 Monastic tonsure Took monastic vows and was ordained a deacon, having entered Studenica Monastery.
1916 Theological studies in Russia Graduated from the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg.
1917 Mission to America Sent to the United States to organize the Serbian Orthodox Church.
1923 Saint Sava Monastery Acquired land in Libertyville, Illinois, where the monastery was established.
1926 Episcopal consecration Consecrated first Serbian Orthodox Bishop of America and Canada in Belgrade.
1935 Repose Died on December 12 and was buried at Saint Sava Monastery.
2015 Glorification Glorified as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Early Life and Formation

He was born Ivan Uskokovic in 1889. Sources place his birth in or near Podgorica, Montenegro; one diocesan account specifies the village of Kornet in Ljesani County and names his parents as Petar and Jela Uskokovic. He pursued his early studies in Montenegro and Serbia before entering the Studenica Monastery, where he received the monastic name Mardarije.

By tradition he took monastic vows in 1906 with the blessing of Bishop Sava (Barac) of Zica and was ordained a deacon. He then spent his formative years in Russia, studying at the seminary in Kishinev and graduating from the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg in 1916. During his time as a student he is said to have traveled to deliver lectures to Slav prisoners in Siberia, Turkestan, and Bukhara.

Mission and Episcopate in America

In 1917 he was sent to the United States to organize the Serbian Orthodox Church there, a mission undertaken in connection with the Russian Orthodox Holy Synod. He was appointed administrator of the Serbian American-Canadian Diocese, and in 1923 he acquired land in Libertyville, Illinois, where Saint Sava Monastery was established. The synaxarion relates that he labored on the monastery with his own funds and his own hands.

He was elected the first bishop of the newly established American diocese and was consecrated to the episcopate on April 25, 1926, in Belgrade by Patriarch Dimitrije together with other bishops. He served as Bishop of the United States and Canada from 1926 until his death in 1935, convening the first National Church Assembly of the diocese in 1927 to consolidate its organization.

Repose and Glorification

Saint Mardarije reposed on December 12, 1935; some accounts relate that he died while composing his final Nativity encyclical to his flock. He was buried at Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville, the spiritual center he had founded.

He was glorified as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2015. Accounts of the glorification report that his remains were found incorrupt when his grave was opened some eighty years after his repose.

Notes

Modern Orthodox saint.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints