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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Order of the Knights of Christ |
 | | During the period of Spanish domination (1580-1640), another attempt to revive the monastic character of the whole order resulted in the statutes enacted by a general chapter, at Thomar in 1619, and promulgated by Philip IV of Spain, in 1627. |
 | | The last attempt at a reform of the order was that of the Queen Donna Maria, made with the approbation of Pius VI (1789). |
 | | The Order of Christ, as a papal decoration, or order of merit, is also a historical survival of the right, anciently reserved to the Holy See, of admitting new members into the Portuguese order. |
| www.newadvent.org /cathen/03698b.htm (1025 words) |
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