The Militia of Jesus Christ (Italian: Milizia di Gesù Cristo) was a military order in Lombardy during the High Middle Ages.
[1] Its chief purpose was to combat heresy, like Catharism and Waldensianism, and to strengthen the bond between the Roman Church and the local nobility.
Members were required to perform confession thrice annually (at Easter, Christmas, and Pentecost) and acts of liturgical devotion daily or hourly.
[2] The head officer of the Militia was the master general, who decided in what military operations members could participate when called upon by either the pope or the local bishop.
It should also not be confused with a modern "revival" called the Militia Jesu Christi, which sees itself as the continuation of Dominic's foundation, but without official ecclesiastical approval.