Dositej Dimitrije Obradović (Доситеј Димитрије Обрадовић, pronounced [dɔsǐtɛːj ɔbrǎːdɔʋitɕ]; 17 February 1742 - 1811) was a Serbian author, philosopher, linguist, polyglot and the first minister of education of Serbia. An influential protagonist of the Serbian national and cultural renaissance, he advocated Enlightenment and rationalist ideas while remaining a Serbian patriot and an adherent of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Founder of modern Serbian literature, he is commonly referred to by his mononym, first name alone. He became a monk in the Serb Orthodox monastery of Hopovo, in the Srem region, and acquired the name Dositej (Dositheus). He translated many European classics, including Aesop's Fables, into Serbian. He was also a prominent Freemason, and was posthumously enrolled in German, English and Italian Masonic lodges^{[citation needed]}.

Dositej Obradović was born Dimitrije Obradović in 1739 to poor parents in the village of Csák (Serbian:Čakovo), then part of the Habsburg Empire (now Ciacova, Timiş County, Romania) in the region of Banat. His parents died when he was a boy and he began life as an apprentice in the town of Temesvar, not too far from his village. His passion for study was strong, and he spent his spare time reading as soon as the day's work in the shop was over. His reading was mainly restricted to lives of the saints and accounts of the miracles they performed. He became so engrossed in this literature that he considered living in the desert, becoming a saint, and working miracles himself. Once he tried to run away, but was dissuaded by a colleague. His desire for the saintly life was strong, however, and the next time he succeeded.