Општенародни тутори
General Peoples` Tutors

Summary/Abstract: The institute of the General Peoples' Tutors was established at the 1726 People's-Church Gathering in Karlovci. The impetus for its establishment was the selection of the Belgrade Metropolitan Mojsije Petrović for Karlovac Metropolitan. As the Metropolitan Mojsije was supposed to take over the obligations of the other Metropolitan, which would add to his duties, the people's representatives assumed that he would need help, especially in maintaining the Royal Privileges of the Serbs in the HabsburgMonarchy, as well as in dealing with the financialmatters. Therefore, on 10 March (27 February) 1726, the Gathering decided to form a seprate body, consisting of twelve General Peoples' Tutors. Their task was to preserve with theMetropolitan the riginal texts of the Privileges, and to take care of the Metropolitan's income. They had to help theMetropolitanMojsije in important matters, and to answer any call from him without any hesitation. As the People's-Church Gathering could not be convened often, according to the delegates, the Tutors were supposed to meet and settle issues important for the people.Among other things, they were supposed to discuss about the obstacles created by the state authorities, and to lodge formal complaints with the Emperor. According to the few surviving documents, one could conclude that, during 1730s, General Peoples' Tutors attempted to regulate the Belgrade-Karlovac Metropolitan's finances, and to control its income and expenditure, that they kept the original texts of the Privileges, Emperor's decrees, Metropolitan's and Bishop's diplomas, and that they helpedMetropolitansMojsije Petrović and Vićentije Jovanović in composing and editing people's submissions and complaints addressed to the Emperor. Following the crossing of the PatriarchArsenije IV Čarnojević into the territory of the HabsburgMonarchy, and his taking over of theMetropolitan in 1737, General Peoples' Tutors lose importance. Their duties were taken over by other institutions, primarily the Archpriest's Synod. It seems that the institute of the General Peoples' Tutors as not formally abolished, but it simply ceased to function over time. This paper presents two original decisions of the 1726 Gathering, related to the founding of the institute of General Peoples' Tutors. The first decision established the number of themembers of the new body and their functions, and the second one named twelve General Peoples' Tutors. The decisions were written in the cyrillic script, in the Serb-Slav language, which was still unchanged under the influence of the Russian language. Both decisions were confirmed with signatures and stamps by the total of 77 delegates, as well as the new Metropolitan Mojsije Petrović.

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