Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation

Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation (Latin: Rescriptum Declaratorium Illyricae Nationis; Serbian Cyrillic: Деклараторни рескрипт илирске нације, Деклараторија) was issued on 16 July 1779 by Maria Theresa, Dowager-Empress and Queen of Hungary (1740-1780).^[1] It was a royal rescript, issued in response to a series of petitions made by Eastern Orthodox subjects of the Habsburg monarchy, regarding the regulation of their religious freedom and ecclesiastical autonomy. The document was the result of a process, initiated by previously issued Regulamentum privilegiorum (1770) and Regulamentum Illyricae Nationis (1777), both of them replaced by the royal rescript of 1779.^[2]