It was considered relevant and extraordinary services for admittance into all imperial orders after 1861 the following services: • Services provided for the maintenance of the public order and for preservation of the national
independence,
integrity and
dignity. • Services provided during public
calamity. • Services provided for the benefit of the
parish church (
Roman Catholic), roads, waterways and other works or establishments for the
public good. of a Knight of Christ in
Rio de Janeiro during the reign of Dom Pedro I. Basically all services that resulted in notable and proven utility to religion, to
humanity and the
state, that were provided during public,
ecclesiastical or military functions; be it in
science,
letters,
arts or industry.
Forms of admission There were two ways to be admitted to the Order of Christ after the reform of 1861, they were: • The Order was given by the Emperor after review by the Minister of Internal affairs for extraordinary services recognized by the Empire. Members of the Imperial administration, such as ministers of state, the Imperial family and high ranking foreigners were excluded from any requirements. • A citizen could file a petition to the Emperor, the individual had to prove extraordinary services; the process was very complex and involved the approval of different authorities, including the state attorney, the provincial president, the Emperor and sometimes the Bishop.
Requirements for admission If filing a petition, the following requirements had to be completed: •
Art 1. Nobody was admitted to the Empire's honorific orders without a request that proved at least 20 years of distinct services. The only exception was for members of the
clergy of the Catholic Church, they were admitted with 10 years of service and also members of the military, they had the years of service counted twice for each year required. •
Art 2. The request had to be signed by a representative especially authorized and the following documents had to be added to the request: Authentic documents that proved the services provided;
criminal record proving that the individual was not involved as a
defendant in a
criminal procedure; letters from superior authorities with whom the individual had served attesting to the records; other documents necessary to prove 20 years of service. •
Art 3. The
provincial attorneys had to give their opinion regarding the individual and after it send the recommendation to the
provincial president and the president sent the request to the Imperial government. If the individual was a member of the clergy the Church superiors also had to authorize the request. The provincial president and the
bishop had to be explicit about their opinion of the individuals entering the order. •
Art 4. The person that petitioned for entrance into the order could use his record of service only once, if a new petition was made he could use only the services provided after the first petition. •
Art 5. Admission for any applicant if approved was always in the first grade of the order, individuals could not be promoted without proof of 4 extra years of service after admission to the previous grade.
Loss of Knighthood Membership into the order was given for life, however, members could be expelled from the order if: a member lost his
Brazilian citizenship for breaking articles 2, 3 or 7 of the Imperial constitution; if
guilty of a
criminal offence; if the individual lost his post in the as a result of a criminal offence; and if the individual committed a
political crime that resulted in the loss of
political rights. ==Grades==