Draft:Ostoja Tekelija

Stefan Ostoja Popović Tekelija (c. 1663 – c. 1740) was a Serb army officer serving in the Habsburg army at the same time as his older brother Jovan Tekelija.  As commander of the Serbian Militia, Tekelija participated in many battles distinguishing himself together with Pera Jovanović-Segedinac in particular during the Battle of Lugos (1695) and in the Battle of Zenta (1697) where the Ottoman Empire suffered a devastating defeat. For his merit, Ostoja was appointed Captain of the Serbian Militia in Arad and ennobled by Emperor Joseph I. His older brother Jovan Popović Tekelija received the title milicilae Rascianae (Serbian) collonellus in 1704. Later, he and his brother were placed under the command of Generals Glaubitz and Leffelholz and participated in battle against Rákóczi's War of Independence. The noble diploma of Emperor Joseph I was issued on 16 March 1706 and read as follows: "to Stefan Ostoja, Ostoja's wife Anna née Davidović, to their daughter Jelisaveta; and to his brother Jovan, his wife Euphrosina née Jović and children: Valentin, Jovan, Mihailo and Jelena.

Ostoja Popović Tekelija was born in Arad as the second known member of the notable Serb family Popović Tekelija. At an early age, like his older brother, Tekelija joined the Austrian military. After the Austrian capture of Belgrade in 1689 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant with special position as pathfinder of the Austrian army in Voivodina and its neighbouring territories. He fought against Kuruc rebels before being asked to join the fight against the Turks. In 1686 Tekelija fought at the Battle of Buda under the command of his brother Jovan.

Bezdin Monastery

When Austria with Serb insurgents expelled the Ottoman Turks and occupied the Banat in 1718, the Bezdin Monastery also stubbornly resisted the attempts of the Austrian administration to dispute its rights to possession, that is, to settle Germans on its land. The Serbian state institution declared itself the exclusive owner over the entire Banat, Bezdin included. The monastery buildings themselves entered the eighteenth century damaged, dilapidated and in need of restoration. Once again, the help of "brothers and Christians" became indispensable. Colonel of the Serbian Militia, Jovan Popović Tekelija, and his brother, First Captain Ostoja Tekelija, showed their generosity in the reconstruction and in gratitude, the Serbian Orthodox Church named them the new "first founders" (ktitors) ever since.

Kingdom of Serbia

With the elected Bishop of Arad Vikentije Jovanović as the joint Belgrade-Karlovci Metropolitan, a special delegation of 29 members was selected to follow Metropolitan Vikentije to the residence in the capital. In 1731, Belgrade officially became the seat of the unified Metropolitanate. The ceremonial delegation of clerics and prominent citizens accompanying the Metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci to Belgrade also included leading Army representatives: Chief Captains Ostoja Tekelija from Pomoriška krajina; Jovan Monasterlija from Posavska krajina; captain Arsenije Vujić from Potiska krajina; captain Sekula Vitković from Podunavska krajina; and chief captains Vuk Isaković; Staniša Marković; Kosta Dimitrijević and Keza Radivojević from Krajina of the Kingdom of Serbia.