Order of Christ

The Order of Christ is a Portuguese military religious order founded in 1319 by King Denis of Portugal, established with papal approval largely to absorb the members, properties and mission of the Knights Templar in Portugal after the international suppression of the Templars in 1312. Headquartered at the Convento de Cristo in Tomar, a former Templar stronghold, the order retained much of the Templars' wealth and organizational structure while operating under royal rather than papal control. The Order of Christ became closely tied to Portugal's maritime expansion in the fifteenth century, most famously through Prince Henry the Navigator, who served as its governor and used its revenues to help finance Portuguese voyages of exploration down the African coast, and the order's distinctive red cross was painted on the sails of Portuguese caravels during the Age of Discovery. Secularized as a purely honorific order in the nineteenth century, it continues today as one of Portugal's state orders of merit, awarded for outstanding civil and military service.