Sava Tekelija
| Sava Tekelija Сава Текелија |
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| Born |
28 August 1761 Arad, Habsburg Monarchy (today Romania) |
| Died | 7 October 1842 (aged 81) Pest, Austrian Empire (today Hungary) |
| Nationality | Imperial Austrian |
| Occupation | Doctor of law, merchant, philanthropist |
Sava Tekelija (Serbian Cyrillic: Сава Текелија; Hungarian: Száva Thököly, 1761–1842) was among the first Serbs to have defended a doctoral thesis in jurisprudence (doctor of law), and in particular in legal theory and philosophy in 1786 at the University of Pest; president of the Matica srpska; philanthropist; noble; and merchant. Tekelija founded in Budapest the Tekelijanum (Collegium Tökölyanum) in 1838 for Serb students studying in the city. Tekelija, the patron of the Matica Srpska, opened also a Matica library in the Tekelijanum. He is related to Peter Tekeli and Jovan Tekelija (Thököly).
Born in Arad in the Habsburg Monarchy (today's Romania) Tekelija studied at a Serb elementary school, went to a Buda Gymnasium, and studied law and commerce in Pest. He finished his studies in 1785, taking high jurisprudence honours. He was called to the bar in 1786. From this time he practically devoted his life to social work among the poor Serbs of Budapest, and he became well known as a social reformer and philanthropist, at home and abroad. As a merchant, Tekelija made a princely fortune very early on in his career. Convened by Metropolitan Mojsije Putnik shortly before his death, Tekelija was among the many participants of the May 1790 Serbian Church Congress (Sabor) in Temeschwar (Timișoara) where political and military representatives of Serb people in the Habsburg Monarchy gathered. The clergy no longer dominated their own assembly, thanks to Putnik's efforts in making the sabor a "People's Assembly". The senior officers led by Colonel Arsenije Sečujac demanded the establishment of a separate Serb country within the Habsburg Monarchy. Sava Tekelija was in opposition to the military demands, preferring negotiations with the Emperor.
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