Military Order of Christ

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(Redirected from
Order of Christ (Portugal)
)
For the Papal branch of the order, see Supreme Order of Christ. For the House of Orléans-Braganza branch of the order, see Order of Christ (Brazil). For the Kongolese branch of the order, see Order of Christ (Kongo).
Military Order of Christ
Ordem Militar de Cristo
Honorific Order
Established
  • 1319 (founded)
  • 1789 (secularized)
Country 
Order of Aviz

Decorations of the Order

The Military Order of Christ[a] is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ,[b] and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ.[c] It was founded in 1319,[1][2] with the protection of King Denis of Portugal, after the Templars were abolished on 22 March 1312 by the papal bull, Vox in excelso, issued by Pope Clement V.[3][4] King Denis refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in most of the other sovereign states under the political influence of the Catholic Church.

Heavily swayed by Philip IV of France, Pope Clement had the Knights Templar annihilated throughout France and most of Europe on charges of heresy, but Denis revived the Templars of Tomar as the Order of Christ, largely for their aid during the Reconquista and in the reconstruction of Portugal after the wars. Denis negotiated with Clement's successor, John XXII, for recognition of the new order and its right to inherit the Templar assets and property. This was granted in a papal bull, Ad ea ex quibus, on 14 March 1319.[5]

There exists also a parallel Supreme Order of Christ of the Holy See, the Order of Christ of the House of Orléans-Braganza, and the Order of Christ of Kongo.[6]

History

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icon Catholic Church portal
Main article: History of the Order of Christ

The order's origins lie in the

Age of Discoveries
.

In 1789, Queen

St. James of the Sword, formed the group of the "Ancient Military Orders", governed by a chancellor and a council of eight members, and appointed by the President of the Republic to assist him as Grand Master in all the order's administrative matters. The Order can be conferred for outstanding services to the Republic on military officers, and, despite its name, on civilians (including foreigners as well as Portuguese citizens) and on members of: Parliament or other branches of government, the diplomatic corps, the Courts of Justice, the Civil Service, and other public authorities.[8]

Grades and badges

The Order of Christ, as awarded by the Portuguese government today, comes in six classes:[9]

  • Grand Collar (GCol), which wears grand collar, the badge of the Order on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest. This rank was introduced in 2021.[10][11]
  • Grand Cross (GCC), which wears the badge of the Order on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
  • Grand Officer (GOC), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
  • Commander (ComC), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in silver on the left chest;
  • Officer (OC), which wears the badge of the Order on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
  • Knight (CvC) or Dame (DmC), which wears the badge of the Order on a plain ribbon on the left chest.

Insignia

Bars of the Military Order of Christ

Grand Collar
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Knight

People associated with the Order of Christ

Star and riband of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Christ

Grand Masters

  • Henry the Navigator
    (Grand Master)
  • Manuel I (Grand Master)
  • Infante Ferdinand (Grand Master)
  • Sebastian of Portugal
    (Grand Master)

Others

Locations associated with the Order of Christ

Entities using the cross of the order in their insignia

Main article:
Cross of the Order of Christ

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Portuguese: Ordem Militar de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo
  2. ^ (Portuguese: Real Ordem Militar de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo)
  3. ^ (Ordem dos Cavaleiros de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo)

Citations

  1. ISBN 978-0268003074
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-313-32685-1
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-7524-6977-5
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-4094-8102-7
    .
  5. ^ F. A. Dutra, "Dinis, King of Portugal", in Medieval Iberia: An Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2003), p. 285.
  6. ISBN 978-1-59102-153-7
    .
  7. ^ a b Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Order of the Knights of Christ" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  8. ^ "ANTIGAS ORDENS MILITARES". Bem-vindo a pagina oficial do Grao-Mestre das Ordens Honorificas Portuguesas (in Portuguese). Presidência da República Portuguesa. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d "GRAUS E INSÍGNIAS DA ORDEM MILITAR DE CRISTO". Bem-vindo a pagina oficial do Grao-Mestre das Ordens Honorificas Portuguesas (in Portuguese). Presidência da República Portuguesa. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Decreto-Lei n.º 55/2021 de 29 de junho". Diário da República (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Governo aprova integração da Ordem de Camões na Lei das Ordens Honoríficas" [Government approves the inclusion of the Order of Camões into the Law of the Honorific Orders]. Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 June 2021.

General and cited references

  • Guimarães, J. Vieira, A Ordem de Cristo, Lisboa, I.N., 1936
  • Olival, Fernanda, The Military Orders and the Portuguese Expansion (15th to 17th Centuries), Portuguese Studies Review Monographs, Vol. 3, Peterborough: Baywolf Press and The Portuguese Studies Review, 2018.
Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Order of the Knights of Christ". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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