Order of Christ Was the Only Successor to Templars

The Order of Templars in Portugal played a key role during the Portuguese Reconquista by taking, settling or defending the territory from the Muslims. Hence, it became highly influential in Portugal and a valuable partner to the Portuguese Crown.

So valuable that, unlike elsewhere in Europe, it suffered no persecution at the time of its dissolution, its members and property in Portugal being instead transferred by King Denis to the Order of Christ, created specifically for this very purpose. In other words, Knights Templar in Portugal were simply rebranded – and that was it.

After the infamous trials of the Templars in France and the subsequent orders of Pope Clement V to dissolve the order, most countries complied, ceding Templar lands to the Hospitallers.

Only two kings – Kings Denis of Portugal and James II of Aragon proclaimed they found no fault of heresy, blasphemy or immorality in the Templars in their respective realms. Which was, obviously, true.

However, the true reason for this bold statement by King Denis was that, while in the rest of Europe Templars were the problem (they did not fit into its political system), in Portugal and Aragon they were the solution. Solution to genuinely existential problem for both countries – the Muslim problem.

This was not surprising since the Templars had become key to the success of the Reconquista in Aragon and Portugal and their vast holdings were critical to the continued security of these kingdoms.

Pope Clement V could not afford an open conflict with two mighty kingdoms in Iberia, so he grudgingly accepted the fact that in those kingdoms the Templars will not be prosecuted.

However, he still ordered the kings to transferring Templar property to the Order of Hospitallers… but King Denis objected to this as well. For two strategic reasons: foreign Hospitaller command could be disadvantageous to fight the Muslim threat from north-Africa and the large amount of border fortifications concentrated in the hands of the Hospitallers could mean a strategic risk for Portugal.

It was another proof that the whole “Templar affair” had nothing to do with the truth – it was all about politics. Cut and dry, plain and simple, loud and clear.

In 1314, Pope Clement V died (or was murdered). His successor John XXII reacted favorably to the proposal by King Denis to create a new Order that would replace the Templars in Portugal. No surprise here – the Pope definitely did not want Portugal to fall to the Muslim (a very real possibility without the Templars).

The new Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Order of Christ for short) was made official on March 14, 1319 by the Papal bull Ad Ea Exquibus. King Denis promptly granted the Order “all castles, properties and goods” belonging to the Templars (i.e., kept them in their ownership). Thus, the Order of Christ became the ONLY official (and thus genuine) successor to Knights Templar.

Transference was seamless – many knights joined the new Order, with no arrests having been made (let alone trials held). The last Master of the Templars in Portugal Dom Vasco Fernandes ended his days as commander of Montalv;o fortress on the eastern border – a fate vastly different than Jacques de Molay’s. Fernandes and many former members henceforth proudly added to their signature, “at one time knight of the Templars“.

One of the later Grand Masters of the Order of Christ was none other than Prince Henry the Navigator, who helped launch the European age of discovery and at whose school of seamanship and navigation Columbus studied.

In 1789, Queen Maria I of Portugal secularized the order which officially ended the history of Knights Templar – a fundamentally religious, Catholic order. In 1910, with the end of the Portuguese monarchy, the order was officially extinguished.

In 1917, the order was revived, with its Grand Master to be the President of Portugal (it still exists today). However, it was revived in name only – now it is the order of merit (an organization that only confers a corresponding award to an individual in recognition of military or civil merit).

Confers on behalf of the Portuguese government that is.