Teodor Filipović ( sr-Cyrl, Теодор Филиповић; 1778–1807) was a Serbian writer,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, philosopher and educator, also known by his pseudonym Božidar Grujović. He was also went by the name of Stevan Filipović during the period he occupied in the post of first secretary of the Governing Council in

Karađorđe's Serbia Revolutionary Serbia (), or Karađorđe's Serbia (), refers to the state established by the Serbian revolutionaries in Ottoman Serbia (Sanjak of Smederevo) after the start of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1804. The Subli ...

Biography

Teodor Filipović was born in the town of

Ruma Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621. History Traces of organized human life ...

Srem Syrmia ( Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is ...

, then part of the territories of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

dynasty, in 1778. He attended schools in

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

Segedin Segedin or Šegedin may refer to: * Sanjak of Segedin, an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire whose capital was Szeged * Szeged, a city in Hungary whose name in the Serbian language is Segedin * Leo Segedin Leopold Segedin ( ...

, Pozun and studied law at the University of Pest. After graduation, he was appointed professor of law history at the University of

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

in 1803. In 1805 he took the ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'' of Božidar Grujović before leaving his post as a university professor to go to

to fight the Turks. He was the first secretary of Serbia's Governing Council, and

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

's legal counsellor, who helped establish a centralized constitutional civil government (which lasted until 1813). Other educators, Mihajlo Grujović (brother of Teodor Filipović) and Ivan Jugović, came to take the post of secretaries of

's Governing State Council after Filipović died in 1807. After the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

in 1804, this lawyer from

(then ruled by

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

), who received his

doctor of law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and for a while taught

History of Law History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

with his fellow Serbs, law professor

Gligorije Trlajić Gligorije Trlajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Глигорије Трлајић; Mol, Bačka, Hapsburg Monarchy, 25 January 1766 – Harkov, then part of Imperial Russia, 28 September 1811) was a Serbian writer, poet, polyglot and professor of law at t ...

and physicist

Atanasije Stojković Atanasije Stojković ( sr-Cyrl, Атанасије Стојковић, ; 20 September 1773 – 25 September 1832) was a Serbian, Austrian and Russian writer, pedagogue, scholar, physicist, mathematician and astronomer. He is considered the founde ...

at the new

Imperial Kharkov University Imperial Kharkov University (1803–1917) was one of the twelve Imperial Universities of the Russian Empire, now known as National University of Kharkiv in Ukraine. History Foundational years and architectural legacy The Imperial Universi ...

(founded by

Vasily Karazin Vasily Nazarovich Karazin (; ; 30 January 1773 – 4 November 1842) was a Russian Enlightenment figure, intellectual, inventor, scientific publisher, founder of the Ministry of National Education in the Russian Empire, and of the Imperial Kha ...

and established in 1804 by Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

), joined his compatriots in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

in their fight for independence. The shock of that seizure had salutary results in Serbia, for it called into existence a widespread spirit of patriotism, especially among the youth. Education was fostered, and an enlightened parliament began to prepare a new constitution that should rid the obstructive Turkish ways. Religious toleration and the equality of all citizens before the law were proposed. In

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1805 Grujović (Filipović) wrote the Decree of the Governing Council (''Praviteljstvujušči sovjet'' as it was called in Serbian) and ''Slovo'' (Speech), a Serbian version of the French

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793 The Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen of 1793 (French: ''Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen de 1793'') is a French political document that preceded that country's first republican constitution. The Declaration ...

. It addressed the many unresolved questions plaguing Serbia and its people (who had enough of Turkish rule), such as issues concerning

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

, and

human dignity Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Age of Enlighten ...

. Grujović stood passionately for

legality Legality, in respect of an act, agreement, or contract is the state of being consistent with the law or of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. ''Merriam-Webster'' defines legality as "1: attachment to or ...

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

, and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. The foundation of his

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

(and its laws) was based on democratic and liberal ideas of

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...

and

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

. Grujović may also be credited for setting the bed stones of

constitutionality In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

during the resurrection of the Serbian state. He is, therefore, justifiably referred to as the first Serbian constitution maker. Grujević's principal stand was that there could be no freedom without economic independence while stressing the importance of education for everyone. He was

Dositej Obradović Dositej Obradović ( sr-Cyrl, Доситеј Обрадовић, ; 17 February 1739 – 7 April 1811) was a Serbian writer, biographer, diarist, philosopher, pedagogue, educational reformer, linguist and the first minister of education of Se ...

's most ardent supporter when Dositej advocated agricultural development based on the use of modern technology. Filipović was part of a group of Serbian economic thinkers (such as Dositej Obradović,

Zaharije Orfelin Zaharije Orfelin ( sr-Cyrl, Захаријe Орфелин; 1726 – 19 January 1785) was a Serbs, Serbian polymath who lived and worked in the Habsburg monarchy and Republic of Venice, Venice. Considered a Renaissance, Renaissance man, he is var ...

Jovan Muškatirović Jovan Muškatirović ( sr-cyr, Јован Мушкатировић, ; 1743 in Senta – 1809 in Buda) was a Serbian author, lawyer and educator who wrote in Serbian, Hungarian and Latin. Biography Muškatirović was born in 1743 into a Serb f ...

, Ivan Jugović, Pavle Solarić, Emanuilo Janković,

, Vićentije Rakić and others) who supported the cameralist principles of rational economic conduct and the development of new sciences and methodologies. Grujović wrote: ''Gdi nema slobode, tu nema života'' (Where there is no freedom; there is no life). Grujović died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1807. His younger brother, Mihailo Filipović (1780-after 1815), also taught at the University of Kharkov.

References

G. Vukadinović, ''Shvatanje prirodnog prava Božidara Grujovića'' . Grujović's Notion of Natural Lawin ''Pola veka nauke i tehnike u obnovljenoj Srbiji 1804–1854'' (Kragujevac, 1996), pages 79–83. {{DEFAULTSORT:Filipovic, Teodor 1778 births 1807 deaths Expatriates in the Russian Empire People from the Habsburg monarchy People from Ruma 18th-century Serbian lawyers 19th-century Serbian lawyers Habsburg Serbs Serbian philosophers

Biography

See also

References