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The Military Order of Christ
A successor, so to speak, in the Kingdom of Portugal of the Order of the Knights Templar, the Military Order of Christ has its origins in the medieval "Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ" which was created on 14th March 1319 by Pope John XXII's Bull, "Ad ea ex quibus".
King Dennis I (1261-1325) had requested the creation of a new order to replace the suppressed Order of the Knights Templars (Pope Clement V, at the Council of Vienne, in 1312). The first Grand-Master was D. Gil Martins -till then had been the elected Master of the Order of St. Benedict of Aviz- who died in 1321.
It assumed the nature of a religious military Order, the lay knights being committed to vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The original seat of the Order was at the medieval town of Castro Marim, in the Algarve. However, in 1357, in the reign of Peter I (1357-1367) having long ago ended the reconquest, the Order moved to the town of Tomar, former seat of the Order of the Knights Templars in Portugal, during the mastership of D. Nuno Rodrigues - 6th Grand-Master of the Order.
Its last elected Grand-Master was D. Lopo Dias de Sousa [1] who died in 1417. At this time King John I (1385-1433), married to Queen Philippa of Lancaster, requested the Pope the office of Governor on behalf of his third son Prince Henry, "the Navigator" (1394-1460).
In 1420, Prince Henry assumed with papal approval the administration of the Order with the title of Governor, thus commencing a new period which was to be brilliant in the history of the Order, linking its destiny, as it did, to the Discoveries.
During his office the Order was reformed by John, Bishop of Lamego, in 1449, with the approval of Pope Eugene IV [2]. Prince Henry was succeeded in the governorship of the Order by his nephew and adopted son Prince Ferdinand, son of King Edward I, who died in 1470.
In 1484, Emmanuel, Duke of Beja, became the XIth Governor of the Order and was eventually recognized as the Grand-Master of the Order, by Leo X's Bull "Constante fide", (June 30th, 1516) after ascending to the throne of Portugal in 1495. He was succeeded by his son King John III who was confirmed as administrator by a brief of Pope Adrian VI - "Eximiae devotionis" (14th April, 1523).
However, in 1551, after the death of Prince George (1481-1550), Duke of Coimbra, (a bastard son of King John II) - Master of the Orders of Avis and of St. James, Pope Julian III, in the reign of John III (1521-1557), conceded in perpetuum, the Grand Mastership of all Military Orders to the Crown.
In 1523, John III went to Tomar and held a Chapter of the Order having entrusted Frei António de Lisboa with the responsibility to undertake the reform of the Order. In 1529, new statutes were approved whereby the Friars (the Professed Knights of the Order) submitted to confinement in the Convent. In as far as the Friars were concerned, the Order thus became a Regular one [3]. In order to receive the Friars, John III ordered the building of the Convent of the Order at Tomar.
In 1789, Queen Mary I reformed and secularized the three traditional Military Orders with the approval of Pope Pius VI, who by the brief "Qualqunque a majoribus", 18 August 1789, confirmed the Grand Mastership of the Orders to the Portuguese Crown and permitted the Queen to reform the Military Order of Christ. Therefore, the Orders, in as far the lay knights were concerned, became mere Orders of Knighthood of aristocratic nature.
The Order in Brazil after independence
The Orders of Christ, Aviz and St. James were awarded in the Kingdom of Brazil after the departure of King John VI to Lisbon in 1821, by Prince Peter under the authority and by delegation of his father at least, until the declaration of independence of Brazil, in 1822 [4].
From this date until 1827, the Emperor Peter I of Brazil (18221831) conferred grades of the Orders of Christ, Aviz and St. James, although never invoking the quality of Grand Master, which he was not, but rather as Emperor of Brazil. Upon the death of King John VI of Portugal, D. Peter I of Brazil was recognized as his heir to the crown of Portugal by the liberal current.
Wishing to resolve the question of the GrandMastership of the Portuguese Ancient Military Orders in Brazil, Peter I (IV of Portugal) asked the Pope, through the Brazilian Ambassador to the Holy See, to recognize the rights in Brazil, which once belonged to the Kings of Portugal.
This gave rise to the Bull Praeclara Portugaliiae Algarbiorumque Regum, of May 15 1827, given by Pope Leo XII, by which was created a Brazilian branch of the Order of Christ. Notwithstanding, the Bull provoked a great political dispute and was never ratified by the Imperial Parliament.
From this point one might say, following Marques Poliano, that the Portuguese Orders ceased to exist as such, in the Empire of Brazil.
In 1843, under Emperor D. Peter II, the Orders of Christ, Aviz and of St. James were recognized in Brazil as National Orders having the Emperor as its GrandMaster. The insignia was basically the same with the addition of the Imperial Crown to the Star and altering the Riband to distinguish it from the Portuguese Orders of the same name. These Brazilian Orders lasted till the Republican Constitution of 1891 abolished them.
The controversial practice of the Order's award by Rome
See, [The Military Order of Christ and the Papal Croce di Cristo]It has been commonly stated in foreign books referring to the Order that the origins of the papal award of the Portuguese Military Order of Christ rested on the fact that by the bull of 1319 which founded the order, the Pope had reserved for the papacy the right to create knights.
However, in the referred Papal Bull of 1319 no trace of such a prerogative can be found and no such practice even existed at the time. Indeed, the admission to the Order was ruled by the Statutes and was subject to a special rite including the profession of vows, under the authority of the GrandMaster.
Notwithstanding, it is known that, at least, during the XVIIth century, if not before, Rome created several "knights of Christ". This practice, however, was strongly and energetically opposed by Portuguese Monarchs. Indeed, it is well known an incident that took place in the reign of King John V, involving the Italian architect Giovanni Servandoni, who worked in Portugal in 1745-1746, drawing the plans for the Palace and Convent of Necessidades
Servandoni who had, supposedly, been made a knight of the Order of Christ by the Pope, wore the insignia of the Order in Lisbon. However, King John V, considering that the only legitimate "fons honoris" was the King of Portugal, and since he was the Order's GrandMaster, forbade Servandoni to wear the insignia and subsequently had him arrested.
Nevertheless, in 1905, Pope St. Pius X created the The Supreme Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the highest Pontifical Order. Since the pontificate of Pope Paul VI it has been only conferred on Heads of State for extraordinary reasons.
The Order under the Republic
In 1910, the Republic abolished all the Orders, but in 1917, at the end of the Great War, some of them were re-established as mere Orders of Merit to reward outstanding services to the state, the office of Grand-Master belonging to the Head of State - the President of the Republic.
The Orders of Our Lady of the Conception (Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa) and that of St. Elizabeth (Santa Isabel) were not renewed by the Republic and remained extinct [5]. The former had been founded on January 18th, 1818 by King John VI, at Rio de Janeiro, to commemorate his ascension to the throne and in testimony of his gratitude for the liberation of the Kingdom from the Napoleonic armies [6]. The latter, had been also created by King John VI, in 1801, at the request of his Queen Carlota Joaquina of Bourbon.
The Military Order of Christ together with the other Portuguese Orders of Merit, had its Statutes revised in several occasions during the I Republic (1910-1926), then in 1962, and again in 1986. The President of the Republic is the Grand-Master of the Order.
The Military Order of Christ together with the Military Orders of Aviz and of St. James of the Sword form the group of the "Ancient Military Orders", governed by a Chancellor and a Council of eight members, appointed by the President of the Republic, to assist him as Grand-Master in all matters concerning the administration of the Order.
The Order, despite its name, can be conferred on civilians and on military, Portuguese and foreigners, for outstanding services to the Republic, in parliament, in the government, in the diplomatic service, in the Courts of Justice, on public authorities or on the Civil Service.
The Order which ranks after the Order of the Tower and the Sword, Valour, Loyalty and Merit and precedes the Military Order of Aviz has five classes: Grand-Cross; Grand Officer; Commander; Officer; Knight/Dame.
Insignia
The Badge of the Order is a long Latin Cross with outward-bent arms enameled red, edged gold, void of a white Latin Cross in the center edged gold, varying in size according to class.
The Star of the Order is a multi-pointed star in gold (in silver for Commanders), with asymmetrical rays, charged with the Badge of the Order upon a medallion enameled silver, within a garlanded wreath of laurel in gold.
The Ribbon is red moiré.
Grand-Cross: wears the Badge of the Order, but larger than the one used by knights, pendant from a Sash and the Star of the Order in gold;
Grand Officer: wears the Badge of the Order, but larger, pendant by the ribbon of the Order round the neck and the Star of the Order in gold;
Commander: wears the Badge of the Order, but larger, pendant by the ribbon of the Order round the neck and the Star of the Order, but in silver;
Officer: wears the Badge pendant by a chest ribbon with rosette;
Knight: wears the Badge of the Order pendant by a chest ribbon but without rosette;
Rules for wearing the insignia
On ceremonial occasions Officers and Knights can wear the Badge of the Order pendant by a ribbon round the neck, in the same size as the Commander Class.
Ladies have no special rules for the insignia, although it is advisable to wear the Badge pendant from a ribbon made in the form of a bow on the left side of the coat or dress, for the classes of Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Dame. In the Grand-Cross Sash the width of the Ribbon, which for gentlemen is about 101 mm, can be reduced to about 71 mm for ladies.
Foreigners awarded with the Order become Honorary Members having the right to wear its insignia. In the event of a promotion to a higher class within the Order, ceases the right to wear the insignia of the former and lower class of the Order.
Footnotes:
[1] Isabel MORGADO S. e SILVA, A Ordem de Cristo durante o Mestrado de D. Lopo Dias de Sousa (1373?-1417), in «Militarium Ordinum Analecta», #1, Fundação Engº António de Almeida, Porto, 1997, pp. 9-129;
[2] Ernesto N. Alves JANA, Fundamentos da Nova Ordem de Cristo, in «As Ordens Militares em Portugal e no Sul da Europa - Actas do II Encontro sobre Ordens Militares - Palmela, 1992», Eds. Colibri/C.M.Palmela, Lisboa 1997, pp. 435-474.
[3] Charles-Martial DE WITTE, (O.S.B.), Une Tempête sur le Couvent de Tomar, in «Arquivos do Centro Cultural Português», Paris, Vol. XXV (1988), pp. 307-423; Ernesto Jana, ibidem, pp. 442-448;
[4] Luiz Marques POLIANO, Ordens Honoríficas do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Imprensa Nacional, 1943, pp. 64-76;
[5] The former Order, in its recent revival by HRH Dom Duarte, Head of the Most Serene House of Braganza, as a Dynastic Order, remains with a private "status", since the Republic does not formally recognize it, and thus its insignia can only be used in private. The Order - as an order of the Portuguese State - was abolished by the Republic, in 1910, and was never officially revived, despite some efforts forty years ago from royalist circles who supported Dr. Salazar's regime. The most that can be said about the present status of this Order is that it is "tolerated" by the authorities, on a private basis, somewhat like the wearing of some foreign Orders in Great Britain (cf. on the subject, although with a different view, Guy Stair SAINTY's site, below.
[6] F. BELARD da FONSECA, A Ordem Militar de Nosa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa, Fundação da Casa de Bragança, Lisboa, 1955; António F. Pimental, A ordem militar de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa - origens, significado, iconografia, in «As Ordens Militares em Portugal e no Sul da Europa - Actas do II Encontro sobre Ordens Militares - Palmela, 1992», Eds. Colibri/C.M.Palmela, Lisboa, 1997,pp. 475-488.
Bibliography:
1. Fortunato de ALMEIDA, Ordens Militares, in «História da Igreja em Portugal» Nova ed., vol. II, Porto-Lisboa, Liv. Civilização, 1968, pp. 215-222;
2. Mafalda Soares da CUNHA, Institucionalização de recursos distribuíveis: hábitos e comendas da Ordem de Cristo da apresentação da Casa de Bragança, «Callipole», Vila Viçosa, # 3-4, (1995-96), pp. 27-35;
3. Francis DUTRA, Membership in the Order of Christ in the sixteenth century: problems and perspectives, in «Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies», Santa Barbara, Vol. I, 1994, pp. 228-239;
4.Francis DUTRA, Membership in the Order of Christ in the seventeenth century: its rights, privileges and obligations, in «The Americas», Washington, 27, 1 (July, 1970), pp. 3-25;
5. Nuno Gonçalo MONTEIRO, O endividamento aristocrático (1750-1832): alguns aspectos, in «Análise Social», Lisboa, #116, 1992, pp. 263-283;
6. Nuno MONTEIRO, Os comendadores das ordens militares (1668-1832): perspectivas de uma investigação, in «As Ordens Militares em Portugal e no Sul da Europa - Actas do II Encontro sobre Ordens Militares - Palmela, 1992», Eds. Colibri/C.M.Palmela, Lisboa, 1997 , pp. 217-230;
7. Fernanda OLIVAL, Para um estudo da nobilitação no Antigo Regime: os cristãos-novos na Ordem de Cristo (1581-1621), in «As Ordens Militares em Portugal: Actas do I Encontro sobre Ordens Militares», Palmela, CMPalmela, 1991, pp. 233-244;
8. Fernanda OLIVAL, O acesso de uma família de cristãos-novos portugueses à Ordem de Cristo, in «Ler História», 33 (1997), pp. 67-82;
9. Manuel S. Castelo-Branco, Visitações na ordem de Cristo até finais do século XVI, in «As Ordens Militares em Portugal e no Sul da Europa - Actas do II Encontro sobre Ordens Militares - Palmela, 1992», Eds. Colibri/C.M.Palmela, Lisboa, 1997 , pp. 407-430.
© (1997, 1998) José Vicente de Bragança (English text kindly revised by Stewart LeForte)
Last updated 8 September 1998
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Related Links
[ The Military Order of Christ and the Papal Croce di Cristo] [Rod Thorn's site on the Order of Christ ] [ To Vasco da Gama - knight commander of the Order]
