 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".