The Ecclesiarchy

Five Things to Note About the Ecclesiarchy

They are not Catholics. Although 40K takes some aesthetic inspiration from Orthodox and Catholic Christianity, the worship of the Imperial Cult is distinct from totally distinct from any real-life religion and you should not use real religious texts or traditions in game. See the Common Prayer and Liturgy page for guidelines on acceptable roleplay

Their power is legal as well as spiritual. Confession to a sin is effectively confessing to a religious crime, and the Church has near-total power to punish religious offences.

They are diverse. Interpretation of the Imperial Cult varies hugely across the Galaxy, and there is no defined orthodox praxis for most religious observance. Common practice under one Cardinal may be deemed heresy under another, and priests may even disagree about the fundamental truths of the founding of the Church.

They are universal. There is no world under Imperial control that does not have Ecclesiarchy representation, usually a cathedral at the bare minimum, and the Missionaria Galactica strive constantly to bring the Creed to yet more worlds. No other religion is permitted in the Imperium, nor are interpretations of the Creed which accept the existence of any other gods but the Emperor.

Their origins are unclear. Texts which refer to the origins of the Imperium are heavily suppressed, and the Ecclesiarchy is no exception. Most citizens simply believe that the Ecclesiarchy and its doctrines have always existed in exactly the form they are now; other views are usually considered heresy

History of the Ecclesiarchy

As the people of the early 31st Millennium came to venerate the God-Emperor of Mankind and flocked to Him, there was great strife amongst the God-Emperor’s followers for He had retreated to His Golden Throne after the Battle of Terra. Many argued greatly as to the correct way to guide His citizens in worship of Him.

Upon Terra, though, the great Temple of the Saviour Emperor had been founded by a champion of humanity who had fought in that final battle, and seen the truth of the God-Emperor’s divinity – he was called Fatidicus, and he would come to lay the foundations of what would grow into the one true Imperial Creed, following the words of the Emperor’s Prophet, Saint Keeler.

In the 32nd Millennium, after the Temple of the Saviour Emperor had cast down false belief, and the truth of the God-Emperor’s divinity had been spread to all of the Imperium, the High Lords recognised the Temple of the Saviour Emperor as the true faith of the Imperial State. And, so, it came to be that it was reformed into the Adeptus Ministorum – the Priesthood of the God-Emperor of Humanity – known to many, simply, as the Ecclesiarchy and the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was no more.

During the 36th Millennium, the Ecclesiarchy was compromised by a mad tyrant, and its power had grown bloated and corrupt. At the end of the so-called Reign of Blood, the Ecclesiarchy was reformed heavily by Saint Sebastian Thor – and the Priesthood forbidden from holding any other Office within the Imperium or (if they were of noble birth) of inheriting any power. The most important of all these reforms, the Decree Passive, forbade the Ecclesiarchy of maintaining or governing its own armed forces.

The Adepta Sororitas was formed in the wake of this, to provide the Ecclesiarchy with a protective shield and a force of watchers who would defend the Imperial Cult from corruption. Though an armed force, their all-female composition did not technically breach the wording of the Decree Passive, as it forbade the Ecclesiarchy to “gather, train, promote, sustain or, in any way, command any force of men under arms“. Due to the gendered use of language, the Adepta’s existence was not explicitly forbidden.

The Adeptus Ministorum of the 41st Millennium is a vast and powerful political entity as much as it is a Priesthood. Some argue that the Priests, too often, place politics above their role in guarding the souls of humanity. Some Priests would argue, however, that the Ecclesiarchy only assumes as much authority as it needs to safeguard those souls from being misled by those not versed or sanctioned in Imperial Cult. Though the Decree Passive is still enforced, it is not so stringently adhered to in these darker times, as the Imperium turns time and time again to the fanatic and militant members of the Imperial Cult.

Places of Worship

Within the Imperium, there are many places for the average citizen to give worship to the God Emperor and His many names.

Most commonly, the smaller of these are known as Shrines: often small affairs, with a single altar that may be little more than a repurposed cargo crate or table draped with a simple or decorated cloth, or even a particularly venerated banner. The top of the altar is usually decorated with candles and some form of icon or artifact of faith; in some cases, these may be scrimshawed bones or the skull of a venerated individual; in others, it is usually a symbolic globe representing Terra or some other icon of the Imperium. Most shrines are unattended by a Priest, but, rather, tended to by Citizens and members of the Laity; they tend to be mainly relied upon in the depths of Hives or mine-workings, where there are few true places of worship.

Larger places of worship are most commonly referred to as Temples and, sometimes, Cathedral is often used for large structures, as well. These places of worship are usually administered by one or more Priests of the Ecclesiarchy of varying ranks, and are places of massed gathering, where up to thousands of individuals can gather to be preached to and educated in the scripture of the Cult Imperialis.

The Shrine-Worlds are the rarest – entire planets declared to be holy sites, and are the exclusive domain of the Ecclesiarchy, completely ruled by Priests. These places are important as administrative capitals, from which worship across multiple planets can be directed and governed by high ranking leaders of the faith. They are equally places of pilgrimage, where the grandest places of worship and monuments of the faith are constructed, and that hundreds of thousands of Citizens will travel to aboard pilgrim-ships, so they can visit them at least once in their lifetime

The Priesthood

The Priests of the Ecclesiarchy are a varied group of individuals: the calling to become a servant of the Faith is found in all walks of life, although the great seminaries are more easily accessed by those with the sponsorship of a member of the Ecclesiarchy, those of noble birth or those educated within the Schola Progenium.

When one enters the Priesthood, they are extensively tested and educated at various seminaries across the Imperium. The Ecclesiarchy is rigid in policing its ranks for corruption, and that begins at the point where individuals enter it. Those whose faith is found wanting by the Priests in charge of the Seminary are often simply dismissed from service.

Upon graduating from the seminary, a newly educated Priest, designated as Preacher, will be dispatched to administer to either the spiritual needs of a military unit, or to a small regional parish, where they will serve the God-Emperor by tending to the faith and souls of a small population. Over time, the responsibilities of an individual Preacher will grow; as they rise up the ranks of the Ecclesiarchy, they may tend to bigger parishes, or be granted a more specialised role within the organisation.

The highest ranking member of the Adeptus Ministorum is the Ecclesiarch – one of the High Lords of Terra, who leads from Terra. Given the unreliability in communication within the Imperium, though, most of the day-to-day administration of the myriad of individual Sectors falls to the Cardinals.

Within the Priesthood, the majority of Priests are dedicated to the salvation of souls, although there are those that tend to other needs.

After to the souls of the Citizens of the Imperium, their minds are the next highest priority of the Adeptus Ministorum. There are few places of education within the Imperium that do not fall under the direct control of the Ecclesiarchy. These institutions are tended to by a variety of priests, from simple scholars to the intimidating Drill Abbots that lead the famous orphanage-institutions within the Schola Progenia network that educate the best and brightest of the Imperium.

While many protect the souls of the people through preaching the word of the Imperial Cult, there are some Priests who take more direct action against the Archenemy: Exorcists and Banishers are specialised Priests trained in fighting maladies of the soul, be they sickness and curses laid by Witches, or even grimmer things. Equally, Witch Hunters are sanctioned by the Ecclesiarchy to hunt down and destroy the Witch wherever it may be found – although they are often bound by decrees of cooperation with the Adeptus Astra Telepathica that commands them to take custody of those Psykers they find untainted. The occasional ‘destruction’ of an untainted Psyker is a considerable annoyance to their so-called allies.

There are many hundreds of other minor orders of Priests, from those that aid Imperial Citizens with financial troubles and support, to those entrusted with guardianship and repair of sacred relics of the Imperial Cult.

The Missionarus Galaxia

Although they are, technically, Priests, the Missionaries of the Missionarius Galaxia are a special breed of Imperial servant. Despite operating under the auspices of the Ecclesiarch on Terra, they are, in practice, a nigh-autonomous body within the Adeptus Ministorum. The Missionaries are a nomadic breed, tasked with accompanying all kinds of expedition to the lost and unknown ‘wild spaces’ of the Galaxy. Travelling with Imperial forces and other Agents of the Imperium, Missionaries bring with them the candle of enlightenment to light the fires of true faith within human populations that might have forgotten or never known the blessing of the God-Emperor’s light.

Part Priest, part orator and part diplomat, a good Missionary knows one does not win the souls of a human population by simply imposing the Creed upon them – aspects of many cultures encountered are subtly altered to bring them in line to the teachings of the Ecclesiarchy. Local religions are transformed by claims of apocryphal visitations by major figures from the Creed. While practices considered to imperil the soul might be outright wiped out, and barbaric practices – such as totem hunting and necrophagia – might be replaced with more palatable things, more often than not, any harmless traditions end up being incorporated into local faith, in a manner where they can be policed and controlled. All deities other than the God-Emperor are, eventually, cast down, either by turning their followers against them, or turning their cults towards particular figures of Imperial lore.The Missionarius’ job is not to exterminate human cultures, but to turn them towards the God-Emperor, and savage planets that may well provide well-bred fighters for the Imperial military machine.

To be a member of the Missionarius Galaxia is to be a cunning and resourceful individual, who can survive contact with often barbaric or belligerent cultures. These individuals are nothing if not flexible, indeed. Turning local beliefs towards the God-Emperor requires great effort, demanding that they often spend years toiling in the shadows to manage to turn a world to the light.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the more hidebound members of the Ecclesiarchy consider Missionaries outsiders. For this reason, many of the Priests who enter service of the Missionarius have been assigned to that service because they did not mesh with the more conservative elements of the Adeptus Ministorum. It is not uncommon for Priests who court controversy – or are a potential political rival – to be assigned to this duty by their superiors, in order to push them out of the public eye. Not to say they are not skilled individuals, but many might very well be considered ‘problematic’ by their leaders.

The Adepta Sororitas

The Adepta Sororitas was formed as a division of the Ecclesiarchy in M.36, shortly after the Decree Passive. Founded by Saint Alicia and Saint Thor, the division was built out of the ‘Daughters of the Emperor’, the all-female warrior group who had been tricked into becoming the bodyguards of the tyrant, Vandire. In the Daughters, Thor saw purity, and, although he might have originally intended to disband every militant order of the Adeptus Ministorum, the gendered wording of his original proclamation forbade only men from taking part of armed forces, not women.

But the Adepta became so much more than simply an armoured fist of the Ecclesiarchy: in the aftermath of the Reign of Blood, the corruption of the Ecclesiarchy and the Faithful were great concerns of the Imperium. Bound to the Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition by other oaths, the absolute loyalty of the Adepta – though they may accept direction from the Priesthood – is to the Emperor and Him alone, and its leaders maintain a constant vigil for corruption within the Imperium and the Faith.

To this day, the Order accepts only recruits who identify as female; and those who enter the service have to endure rigorous physical and mental examinations, as well as demanding tests of faith. In many ways, the Sororitas are far stricter in their testing than the Priesthood, because they are looking for a very particular type of women – as the devotion for the God-Emperor that the Adepta require reaches levels of fanaticism and true faith.

The accepted form to address a member of the Adepta Sororitas is by the title of ‘Sister’, or by the High Gothic equivalent of ‘Soror’. Over time, a senior Soror may be granted the rank of Superior (the complete title would be ‘Sister Superior’); if they are particularly competent, they might be inducted to an even higher station, first as Seraphim, and, eventually, to the elite Celestians. Those who demonstrate leadership skills may be raised to the rank of Palantine, which is often considered the start of the training to become one of the divine Canonesses of the Adepta, the leaders of each Order (subdivisions).

The main bodies of the Adepta, the Convents, are headquartered on Holy Terra and the Cardinal World of Ophelia IV. There are many Orders within each Convent, some based on worlds distant from their mother Convents or (in the case of free-roaming Orders) aboard vast Crusader vessels. The Orders Militant might well be the most famous of the Orders, but there are many non-militant Orders that support their work, while providing great benefit to the Imperium:

Sisters Hospitalier are some of the best-trained Medicae in the Imperium. They usually tend to the sick and injured, but also have a role in medical research and the study of medical conditions and maladies. They are the medical staff of many Faith-run Hospitals, and one of the most eagerly welcomed arms of the Imperial Faith on most planets, as they represent the absolute best medical aid a citizen could receive. They also have their darker side, especially when called to support Orders Militant as interrogators – and their obsession with protecting the genetic purity of mankind is renowned.

Sisters Famulous are deeply involved with the Imperial Nobility. Ostensibly, they act as diplomats, specializing in tracking lines of succession, brokering peace and marriage deals between Noble Houses – as well as ministering to the Faith of the household, and often being the tutors of young Nobles. In truth, they are the watchdogs of the Ecclesiarchy within the ruling caste of the Imperium; unsurprisingly, many Noble Houses are deeply wary of these Sisters – as a single word from them can bring the immediate scrutiny of the Inquisition, or even lead to the condemnation of an entire House. Yet, few would refuse the offer of service from a Sister of the Order – not just out of fear of being thought as hiding something, but also because of the amount of prestige that comes with having one of the Sister Famulous as part of one’s household.

Sisters Dialogous are the keepers of the Imperial Language, and renowned for providing the Imperium with vast dictionaries and other tools of translation. Their primary goal is to learn, register and translate all of the myriads of ‘Low Gothic’ dialects of the Imperium’s worlds. Their work allows to bridge language barriers by constantly updating the arcane universal translators, so that all Imperials can speak in the same (if accented) common tongue. They also play an important role in codebreaking, and are responsible for the translation of non-Imperial dialects, to better assist members of the Inquisition and of the Imperial Military in operations against foes that do not share a common tongue with the Imperium.

Sisters Pronatus are archaeologists and curators, specialising in the retrieval, protection, study and repair of artefacts of value to the Ecclesiarchy. This duty includes the uncounted thousands of holy relics revered by the peoples of the Imperium, as well as items acquired by the forces of the Imperium that are considered too powerful or significant to be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Furthermore, they also ensure the authenticity of any relic, ensuring that all that were authenticated by them have a well-documented history.

There are many other Minor Orders of the Adepta, ranging from those in charge of providing choirs and music to support of Imperial Celebrations and Triumphs, to the mortuary Orders that care for those Imperial dead who were prestigious enough to be preserved or placed in crypts rather than committed to recycling units.

The Faith Militant

Under the terms of the Decree Passive, the Ecclesiarchy was banned from maintaining military forces; with the exception of the loophole that permits the existence of the Adepta Sororitas, it largely follows the decree in the 41st Millenium. However it would be misleading to suggest that it does not possess other fighting forces, if irregular ones. While they are less formalised and do not remotely approach the quality of even the most junior Soror, the irregular militias and combat-trained fanatics of the Faith Militant are not to be dismissed out of hand.

Priests Militant

Within the Ecclesiarchy, there are a vast number of Priests who began their lives as soldiers. Many assigned to the Missionarius Galactica, Chaplaincies of the Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy, Arbites and other organisations, and the Drill-Abbots of the Schola Progenium, are trained warriors either by prior profession or by the necessity of their posts. That many of these retain their weapons and armour from their former lives, or are equipped with them for their own protection, is not considered a violation of the Decree Passive – it is simple practicality; there is no such thing as a non-combatant as far as the Imperium is concerned.

However there are Orders of the Priesthood who give worship to the God-Emperor in Their aspect as the Master of the Imperial Military, that venerate the forms of war, that study it and preserve great tomes on accumulated tactical and strategic knowledge or fighting styles to ensure it is not lost to the Imperium. It is not uncommon now, in the dark years of the 41st Millennium, for these Orders to practice what they preserve and preach, adorning themselves with weapons and armour preserved within Ecclesiarchy vaults and taking to the battlefield in Her Name.

Fidelis Militia

In the Imperium at large the term Fidelis Militia refers to the irregular armies of the faithful raised out of desperation to slow the advance of an enemy until conventional forces can be brought to bear. To most it is synonymous of ravening hordes of poorly armed fanatics armed only with civilian-grade weaponry and their faith in Them on Terra. It is a citizen levy, raised when even Planetary Defence forces are not enough to stand in the way of a threat.

Death Cults

While the existence of Death Cults is not hidden from the Imperium, they are equally not widely known or accepted, so knowledge of these is discouraged for characters who have no reason to have previously encountered or heard of them.

The Imperial Cult has strong relationship with themes of death and righteous killing. Skulls feature prominently in Imperial designs, the bodies and bones of the heroic dead are preserved for all to witness, and it is not uncommon for weapons, armour and personal relics to contain elements of the remains of a hero, or a personal ancestor. Death is everywhere in the Imperium, and in the shadow of this relationship form cults that give their worship to the Emperor more freely through the medium of Death and Killing, seeing it as the purest way to communicate with their distant God-Emperor; these are the Death Cults of the Imperium.

The majority of these sects are simply barbaric and rarely dangerous, having peculiar death rituals or mortuary practices. However, a minority actively bring about death, seeking to commune through arts of murder and assassination. These latter, shrouded, sects often train children from birth to be killers and accept death into their lives, turning out incredibly talented murderers and assassins who are totally and fanatically devoted to the Imperial faith.