The Ecclesiarchy Sects of the Prosperitas Sector

See Also:

• The Ecclesiarchy - an overview
• The Imperial Faith
• The Order of His Sanguine Tears
• Death Cults of the Prosperitas Sector
• The Fidelis Militia

The Loyal Ecclesiarchy of the Prosperitas Sector are recovering from a bloody internal struggle fought against the heretical Temple of the Saviour Emperor. Under the leadership of the now-executed heretic Ignatius Grulge, the Temple split the Ecclesiarchy of the Sector in two and challenged its dominance of the soul of the Sector from 594-597.M41. With the Heresiarch defeated, the loyal Ecclesiarchy are trying to regather the splintered Faithful and deal with the remnant Temple and Fidelis Templar forces.

The Loyal Priesthood

Priests in the Prosperitas Sector are not unused to having their loyalties tested. Before the coming of Cardinal Grulge the Priests of the Prosperitas Sector were fragmented; central rule by an Arch-Confessor on Nivalis was weak and many sects and planetary priesthoods were used to governing themselves. Grulge's arrival in the Prosperitas Sector marked a change in this as religious clamp-downs were initiated by the more tyrannical Cardinal as he sought to consolidate his power over them. He brought unity, many agreed, but his restrictions on religious freedoms were a stranglehold. It was dangerous for a long time for divergent sects to practice their beliefs openly; in hindsight, this grew the seeds of the proscribed beliefs of the Temple.

In some ways this has ensured that those loyal Priests and Sects that survived the Temple Uprising are the most canny and strong-willed examples of their kind.

The term "Loyalist" for the Sector Ecclesiarchy arose in 594.M41, when the Ecclesiastic Conclave of Agrial formed to denounce Grulge and present a writ of excommunication against the renegade Cardinal. Properly speaking, with the fall of the Temple, there is no "Loyalist" - there is only the Ecclesiarchy; but the term is still widely used by those wishing to distinguish them from the Temple's forces.

In the wake of Grulge's defeat, Ecclesiarchy leadership is divided. On one side, the Ecclesiastic Conclave of Gaudium formed from the myriad temples on Gaudium as the Hive World slowly began to drag itself back towards prominence in the eyes of the Ecclesiarchy despite the overpopulation and grime that saw it lose the attention of pilgrims. Meanwhile, the Order of His Sanguine Tears represent the most potent leadership and allies that the Loyalists can call upon.

The War for the Soul of Prosperitas

It is an ugly and ill-kept secret that the majority of Priests across the Sector swore loyalty to the Temple of the Saviour Emperor during Grulge's brief but divisive rule. Opinion is divided on how precisely to deal with those who committed the crime of following the Heresiarch's beliefs - especially those who have now recanted their views and pledge to loyally follow the Ecclesiarchy. While the Ordo Hereticus purged Templars from posts in the great Imperial institutions, the Temple briefly held considerable power on many of the besieged worlds of Subsector Secundus where its Fidelis Templar were - and are often still - the first line of defence alongside their PDF forces. Many worlds accepted the tyranny of the Apostate Cardinal in exchange for his protection and were hesitant to demonstrate their duties to the Ecclesiarchy by acting against him; opinion is divided on what penalties should be levied for this collaboration. If all those who cooperated with Grulge were purged, some murmur, there would be precious little Ecclesiarchy left in the sector.

Loyalist Sects of the Prosperitas Sector

As it has grown and interacted with other cultures around the Imperium, so, too, has the Ecclesiarchy spawned sects and factions that practice divergent strains of belief to the core one. Many of these are purged for Heresy, should they be found to deviate in an unacceptable manner. Still, there are those who are seen to have some value to their continued existence, and are preserved and kept as part of the greater Ecclesiarchy.The Prosperitas Sector is no exception, and a myriad of minor sects call the region home.

Nongentists

Priest who come from both the Imperial Cult and the Cult of Mars and seek to unify both faiths, Nongentists follow the teachings of Saint Nongentae of Ferraeus who straddled the two faiths and was canonised for her loyalty to the God-Emperor and part in the construction of the Great Cathedrals of Nivalis. A fusion of both Cults, the Nongentists are an anomaly - they are favoured greatly by the Loyalist Priesthood because their technical skills are of great aid given the traditional friction with the machine cult, but their loyalties to Mars and obsessions with bionic modification (each member of the sect strives to be in perfect balance a hybrid of exactly 50% organic/machine) and their somewhat deviant fusion of Mechanicus designs and Ecclesiastical religious art do upset more traditionalist priests of both cults.

To make matters more complicated the Nongentists have been known to educate those of the Imperial Faith in the mysteries of technology, inducting them into the Machine Cult in contradiction of the oaths of Tech-Priests to Mars and Priests of the Imperial Cult to the Ecclesiarchy. This strange fusion sect, who have appeared on many worlds since the breaking of loyalties with Cardinal Grulge, originates from Ferraeus and might well have been stamped out by other Priests there due to their unacceptably emotive faith compared to the machine-like ordered society promoted by the Machine Cult, singing loud hymns as they work. But their fanatical efficiency compensates for whatever upset their deviation from the norm occurs.

In truth Priests of both cults treat the Nongentists with a degree of amusement and interest, seeing them as a potential template for cooperation rather than the traditional hostility between the two cults at best, and amusing contradiction at worst.

The Redemption

The Redemption is an ultra-fanatical sect within the Imperial Cult, thought it is largely divorced from the guidance of the Ecclesiarchy. This violent cult was imported in the holds of Imperial colony ships bound from Segementum Solar and has holdouts across the Imperium. Its initiates dehumanise themselves, wearing masks and hoods to hide their faces, an act they believe turns them into ‘weapons’ of the faith. Dressed in red robes the shade of blood and fire, Redemptionists believe that the only redemption from sin is death, and their rampages against perceived ‘sinners’ more often than not consume innocent lives.

While the Ecclesiarchy admires virtues of fanaticism, xenophobia and hatred, the Redemption of the Prosperitas Sector is often uncontrollable. It shows little respect to the leadership of the Ecclesiarchy and the Imperium, and is just as likely to turn its acts of violence on them as it is on the enemies of the Imperium. To this end, the Cult is largely outlawed on most planets in the sector and suppressed by Ecclesiarchy and Adeptus Arbites alike.

Despite this, the Redemption's general distrust of the social order has kept it largely free of the influence of Cardinal Grulge and while Ecclesiarchy Loyalists have as many issues with the Redemption as the Temple, it serves to provide them with a useful hoard of fanatics who are violently opposed to Grulges tyranny and decadence.

The Qawm'Aljibal

Main Article: History of Nivalis

On the ancient shrine-world of Nivalis, the native Ruwwad population have practiced worship of a figure they associated with the God-Emperor for generations before the coming of the Prosperitas Crusade. The ancient shrines of Nivalis are home to a sect which honours the twin disciplines of hunting and healing, finding both to be sacred practices. It has been declared orthodox by the Sector Ecclesiarchy, despite its unusual roots.

The Raivan Sun-Cult

Main Article: Raivan Culture

The religious practices the Raivan worship of the God Emperor evolved separate to the challenges that have faced the Imperial Cult through its long and tumultuous history. Unchanged for millennia, the Raivan religion is a rare example of elements of the 'original' Imperial faith, though it has evolved entirely along its own lines. Solar worship is central to the aspect of the Imperial Cult found on Shadowglow. The world sees light one standard Terran daily cycle once every ten years, and a huge amount of focus is placed onto that day.

The Gearwrights

Main Article: The Gearwrights

Uncomfortably not yet officially recognised by the Sector Ecclesiarchy, the Gearwrights are neverthless an increasingly popular Sect found across the Sector since their refugee origins fleeing their home planet of Olethros Secunda. They devote their worship to their 'Saint' Callum Gearwright, who they claim to have been miraculously returned to life by the will of the God-Emperor. Relentlessly persecuted during the Temple Uprising, the Gearwrights are now to be found across the Sector, and have been particularly active in the restoration of Nivalis after its bloody civil conflict drew to a close in 597.M41.

Notable Figures of the Prosperitas Ecclesiarchy

Canoness Asenath Dinah is the single most powerful Soror in the Prosperitas Sector, commanding the Sector’s only Convent-Garrison on Nivalis. , and having been newly-created as the Head of the Order of His Sanguine Tears. She is a grizzled, veteran Soror who has lost much in the line of duty, and is more heavily augmented then some lesser members of the Machine Cult. Initially an ally of Cardinal-Emissarius Grulge, the Order of His Sanguine Tears was responsible for stabilizing Nivalis and enforcing the Cardinal’s iron rule until his attempted purge of his opponents in the Ecclesiarchy in 593.M41 where she interposed her Sorors between his Fidelis Militia and his foes in the Priesthood. Since the unmasking of the Cardinal as a heretic, the Canoness and her order have taken rites of penitence in shame for their part in the rise of the so-called Heresiarch.

Archconfessor Pietr Thrane [deceased 593.M41] was the Archconfessor of Duroverum (the highest Ecclesiastical station on that planet). Thrane was the leader of a moderate faction within the Ecclesiarchy opposed to Cardinal-Emissarius Grulge until his assassination in 593.M41. Initially his death was blamed on non-Imperial elements; however, subsequently, Cardinal Grulge was accused of masterminding it.

Archdeacon Ingrid Dunkeld [missing since 594.M41] is head of the Ecclesiarchy on Lerwick and wife of Alice, the Planetary Governor. Known for being a friendly, bubbly personality, who sits neatly within the orthodox factions of the Ecclesiarchy, Ingrid is more charming then her wife, relying more on convincing others to her way of thinking than using threats. Since the Rising Flame uprising and Archenemy invasion in 594.M41, Ingrid Dunkeld has not been seen in public and is believed to have gone into hiding as-yet untraced by Imperial forces.

Prelate Hadrian Grulge is the widower of disgraced heretic Ignatius Grulge. Officially pardoned for his husband's crimes in 597.M41, he now acts as a Coordinating Chaplain for the Fidelis Militia.