Mardarije Uskoković

Bishop Mardarije (, secular name Ivan Uskoković, ; 22 December 1889 – 12 December 1935) was bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the first Serbian Orthodox Bishop in the Diocese of America and Canada. He was canonized as a saint during the regular session of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church in May 2015 as Saint Mardarije of Lješanska, Libertyville and All America.

Life Uskoković was born on 22 December 1889, in Podgorica, Montenegro, near the area of Kornet in the region of Lješanska nahija. His father Petar "Pero" was a tribal captain and mother Jelena "Jela" hailed from the famous Serbian Božović family.

Uskoković was baptized at the church in the village of St. George and given the name Ivan. Given that he came from a notable family, he was allowed to further his education, first attending primary school in Rijeka Crnojevića and secondary school (gymnasium) in Cetinje and then in Belgrade, Serbia. He stayed in Studenica for a year and a half, after which he went to Moscow for further education. He spent the next twelve years in Russia. Uskoković subsequently became the first bishop in the Diocese of North America and recognized as such by all Serbian Orthodox Bishops with the exception of Velimirović. That same year he bought a ten-acre property in Libertyville, Illinois near Chicago for $15,000 and built the St. Sava Monastery. In his will, Mardarije asked that the bishops of the Serbian church in America be enthroned there in the future.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected him bishop of the newly established diocese in America on 7 December 1925. His consecration took place on Palm Sunday on 25 April 1926. Because of his poor health, he could not travel to Belgrade to be present for the ceremony.

He died at the hospital in Ann Arbor, in Michigan on 12 December 1935. He was buried in the gate of the Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville.

The relics of Saint Mardarije may also be venerated at the Greek Orthodox Church of Prophet Elias in Frankfurt, Germany.

Works The Quiet Corner of Christ Anthology of Sermons A vow to the Russian people