The 700 years of the institution of the Order of Christ in Castro Marim are commemorated next Thursday, March 14, with lectures and the launch of a commemorative philatelic collection.
The celebrations take place in the Church of the Castle of Castro Marim.
During the morning, there are two lectures on the theme of the ephemeris. The first, at 10:00 am, will be conducted by Professor Luís Filipe Oliveira (Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University of Algarve), under the motto “From Land to Sea: The Military Orders and Castro Marim”.
The second, at 11:30 am, is given by Professor Hugo Cavaco and focuses on “The Tombo da Comenda in the context of the Manueline centralization of power”.
At 15:00 pm there is the launch of the philatelic collection commemorating the 700 years of the Order of Christ, by CTT. From this day onwards, the commemorative stamp will be put on sale at all CTT stores. The day will also be marked by musical performances by Eduardo Ramos (singer, composer, lute player and multi-instrumentalist), with “Cantigas de D. Dinis” (XNUMXth-XNUMXth century).
On the 23rd of March, at 15 pm, the Castle hosts the gathering “From the Templars to the Order of Christ in the Algarve”, with Maria Luís Francisco, followed by a Chapter session of the Commendation of Laccobriga of the Order of the Temple – OSMTHU Branch.
The objective of this Comenda de Laccobriga is to hold an official ritual ceremony of the Order, commemorative, but open to the participation of the local community, as well as bringing Templar spirituality and ritual to the place that was the first house of the Portuguese Templars already invested as Order of Christ .
The Order of Christ was installed on March 14, 1319, in Castro Marim, by order of King D. Dinis, after the extinction, by Pope Clement V, of the Order of the Templars, one of the most famous Military Orders of Cavalry, founded in 1118, in the aftermath of the 1st Crusade. With a decisive role in the period of the Reconquest, in the military activity against the Moors and in the settlement of the territory, the Order of the Templars was also the holder of a vast patrimony that, by right, belonged to the Holy See, a fact that threatened the king's sovereignty.
Under the pretext of defending the Algarve coast from attacks by Maghreb pirates and pirates, D. Dinis manages to decree the creation of the new religious-military Order. The 1st seat of the Order of Christ was then the Castle of Castro Marim, with one of the most solid defensive systems in the entire Kingdom of the Algarve and located on the maritime border with Morocco and in the vicinity of the Islamic community of Granada.
In this context, a group of radio amateurs and associations committed to the dissemination and promotion of the history of the Portuguese Templars, will carry out, from the Castle of Castro Marim, from 22 to 24 March, a radio broadcast that celebrates the 900 Years of the Templars in Portugal and in Europe.
The Diploma of the Portuguese Templar Castles will be awarded to this Castle, simultaneous delivery in the castles of Soure, Castelo Branco, Tomar and Santarém, all of them headquarters of this Military Order, by the Association of Radio Amateurs of Ribatejo.
In Castro Marim, in 2016, 13 members were invested, thus creating the Commandery of Santiago of the Order of the Templars.
This is an initiative of the Municipality of Castro Marim, in collaboration with CTT – Correios de Portugal.
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