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TIRELESS "GOING AWAY FROM HOME" Man who,
in its time, saw and knew more than any other living Serb. First running away from home of fifteen years old Dimitrije Obradovic, son of furrier Djurdje from Cakovo (Temisvar´s Banat) and Kruna (from Paunkic family in nearby Semartin) was not successful. Boy early left without parents, so his uncle Nicolas Parcanin accepted him and thought of preparing him for priest. He went to school in Cakovo and sincerely loved book. He read on Serbian and Romanian and he read the most hagiographies – lives of saints. Pruned of dreaming and imaginative he decided to follow saint’s example and commit himself to ascetic life of monks. He met some monk Isaije Decanac that came to Cakovo to beg and went with him toward Turkish border with the intention to go to monastery Decani. On that very same day, when he founded out that he is gone, uncle ride the horse and around midnight found them in monastery where they stopped to stay over night. He returned Dimitrije home and sent him to cap maker’s craft in Temisvar. But, nothing could stop Dimitrije in him intention. In first part of his autobiography ˝Life and prikljucenija˝ that he issued twenty-nine years later he wrote of that escape: ˝… even if sky and ground conciliate against me, I will leave!˝. Barely one year passed and Dimitrije escaped again. And – escapade was successful. With his friend Nick Putin he stole out of Temisvar and near Slankamen crossed to Srem and on July 31 {August 13} 1757, around 14 hours, got to monastery Hopovo on Fruska gora. Prior Theodore Milutinovic, born in Valjevo, took him as his student. On February seventeen 1758 he was admitted to monks order and received name Dositej, according his role model Saint Dositej that in age of seven left his parents and went to monks. On April sixteenth metropolitan Pavle Nenadovic gave him rank of deacon.
(More of Dositej in Hopovo in part about Monastery New Hopovo) Disappointed in monk’s way of life, in rough and lazy monks, lost ˝each desire for sanctity˝, on November 2. {15} 1760, he escaped. He headed over Slavonia Slavonia to Zagreb with deacon Atanasije. It was in period of seven year when Austria and Russia war against Prussia. He thought of joining some orthodox priest in Austrian army and come with him to Germany where Russian troupes were settled and where many Serbs served as officers. Some of them will take him to Russia. He counted on going to Kiev to study science.
Road to Russia failed. No harm done. His nomad nature, irrepressible tendency fro changing places and environment turned him to the other side. Toward Mediterranean. He left Zagreb on March 1, 1761. In northern Dalmatian, he spent four years among Serbs. He was also in Montenegro. And then, it was decided. Runaway monk from Hopovo went ˝abroad˝ (his favorite word that he commonly uses in his autobiography). He surrender with his whole soul to the challenge of not known, curiosity irresistible led him to meet foreign countries and nations. In 1765, over Trogir he came to Split where he boarded on ship for Krf. He stayed on Krf for month and half, went to Morea and stayed there for two months. From Navpleon he sailed to Saint Gora and autumn and winter of 1765 spent on Hilandar. In spring of 1766 he went to Smyrna which he left in 1768, went to Epirus, in Hormov he stayed until the end of year and then returned to Krf. He stayed on island until May, and in June 1769 over Venice and Zadar returned to Northern Dalmatic. In autumn 1771 over Trieste went to Vienna where he lived for next six years. From Vienna he went to Modra, near Bratislava, traveled to Karlovac visited his and his mother’s birthplace, that he hasn’t seen for nearly twenty years and then headed to Bratislava. In autumn 1779, inexhaustible traveler was in Trieste. On the following year, he traveled through Italy. He visited Venice, Ferrara, Bologna, Florence, Pistoa, Luca, Pizza and Lavern and then headed to Constantinople. He sealed besides Corsica and Sicily and on island Hios he stayed for eleven months, until March 1781 when he went further to Bosphor. He left Constantinople fastly, being afraid of plague. He caught first boat toward Black sea, continued on Danube and unshipped in Galc, in Moldavia. He spent year in Foxan, Jas and Roman and then headed to Germany.In autumn 1782 over Poland, Sleazier, Breslava and Leipzig came to Hale and on the following year moved to Leipzig. Two years after over Frankfurt on Maine, Majhajma, Strasborough, Nansy, Metz and Lineville came to Paris. He fulfilled his ancient desire to see French capital. He stayed there for three weeks and went on to London.
At the ending of 1787 he headed to Russia to Sklov to general Simeun Zoric (at his invitation), former lover of Empress Catherine. He stayed on his estate for six months. In summer of 1788 he traveled over Liflandia and Sesvegen (July), Riga and Klasen in Kurlandia (August), came to Keningsbergh September 12, on 30th in Berlin, October 8 in Vitermberg, 20th in Leipzig.In the beginning of 1789 he rushed to Vienna. He spent there nearly fourteen years and in summer 1802 he moved to Trieste. Two years later, in spring of 1804, first news about revolution in Serbia came. Desire for motherland that he never visited was getting stronger. In June 1806 he left Trieste and in August 1807 he crossed from Zemun to liberated Belgrade.He died in March 1811, in year 72. Jovan Skerlic said for him that he was a man that in his time ˝saw more and knew more than any other living Serb". WHERE DOSITEJ GOT THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR HIS JOURNEYS
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