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While [[Tikhon of Moscow|Abp. Tikhon]]’s plans included the consecration of ethnic [[auxiliary]] bishops, the first attempts at forming a Serbian diocese was made in 1913, under the then Metropolitanate of Belgrade. But, this attempt failed as the Metropolitanate did not respond to the requests from America and the 19 Serbian parishes remained with the Russian diocese.
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The first Orthodox Serbian immigrants arrived in mid nineteenth century in California and Louisiana where they participated in the founding of some of the first Orthodox parishes in the United States. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century additional ethnic Serbs arrived. In 1892, the first Serbian Orthodox parish was established in Jackson, California by [[Archimandrite]] Sebastian (Dabovich). He was the first Orthodox [[priest]] who was born in the United States. The Serbian parishes that formed during these time generally were served under the multi-ethnic Russian North American mission.
With the disintegration of the American diocese following the Bolshevik coup in 1917 the diocese was unable to consecrate Archimandrite Mardary (Uskokovich) as bishop for the Serbian parishes, in 1919, and the mission diocese requested his consecration by the new Serbian Patriarch Dimitriye. But, Pat. Dimitriye made Mardary head of the Rakovitsa Monastery instead. The American Serbians then asked the Patriarch to sent Bp. Nicolai (Velimirovich), which he did, with Archimandrite Mardary as his deputy. Serving as a parish priest in Chicago, Fr. Mardary did much of the organizational work for the diocese, including purchasing with his own funds the St Sava Monastery site in Libertyville, Illinois.
