The Ecclesiarchy: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:53, 19 October 2023

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.

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-=== The Cult Imperialis ===
+See also:
+* [[Factions_of_the_Prosperitas_Sector#The_Ecclesiarchy_in_the_Prosperitas_Sector|The Ecclesiarchy of the Prosperitas Sector]]
+* [[The Imperial Faith]]
-There are two state religions within the Imperium, the Machine Cult (or Credo Omnissiah) and the far more dominant Cult Imperialis.
+=== Five Things to Note About the Ecclesiarchy ===
-The Cult Imperialis is dedicated to one universal truth: That the God-Emperor of Humanity is the one true god and all other Gods are falsehoods.
+* '''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
-All humans born on worlds that are in the thrall of the Imperium and do not owe a close relationship to the Adeptus Mechanicus (who follow the [[The Cult Mechanicus|Machine Cult]]) are indoctrinated in some form or another in the tenets of the Cult Imperialis.
+* '''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.
-The Cult is also known as the Imperial Cult or Imperial Creed. These terms refer to the Religion itself, not the Priesthood. The title of that organisation is the Adeptus Ministorum, sometimes simply referred to as the Ministorum, or the Ecclesiarchy.
+* '''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.
-=== The History of the Cult Imperialis ===
+* '''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.
-''This section represents the “Truth” as taught by the Imperial Cult. Like much of Imperial history, it may be unreliable.''
-The Imperial Cult rose during the dark times of the Horus Heresy, as the Arch-foe Horus attacked the Imperium, followed by eight daemons. The people were defended by the Emperor and Their Nine Children, the Primarchs. In this time of terror and darkness, the people came to see that their Emperor was in fact much more than the human they had believed Them to be, and the one true God of Humanity.
+* '''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
-As of the 41st Millennium the cult has weathered a number of schisms and events that have challenged Imperial belief. Despite these trials it has come to permeate the Imperium, of all elements it is the strongest example of a monolithic ‘Imperial culture’ directing the styles of art, architecture and music common to all citizens of the Imperium – all of these transmitted through religious beliefs and Ecclesiastic declarations to the furthest corners of the galaxy. Even on the most strange and hostile planets in the Galaxy, there is a comforting familiarity to the nature of the Cult there for all Imperial Citizens.
-=== The Core Tenets of the Cult Imperialis ===
+=== 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.
-The Imperial Cult experiences variation across sects and Sectors,  simply because of unreliability of long-distance communication within the Imperium. Reforms and proclamations made on Terra by the Ecclesiarch might take hundreds of years to reach an outlying sector at the edge of the Galaxy.
+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.
-What follow are a rough list of the core tenets of the Cult Imperialis, the Imperial Creed that are all-but universal and have stood for millennia.
+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 God-Emperor of Mankind once walked among humanity in Their mortal form; but They are and always have been the one, true God of Humanity.
+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 God-Emperor of Humanity is the one true God of Humanity, regardless of the previous beliefs held by humanity. To recognise any God but Them is Heresy.*
-* It is the duty of all Imperial citizens to stand against Their foes and remain vigilant against all threats to the Imperium, the following three ‘Catechisms of Hate’ are known by all humanity;
-* Purge the Heretic
-* Beware** the Witch*** and the Mutant
-* Abhor the Alien****
-* Every human being has a place within the God-Emperor's divine order. All human souls belong to Them and Them alone, it is the manifest destiny and divine right of the Imperium to rule over all of humanity in Their name.
-* It is the duty of the Faithful to unquestionably obey the authority of the Imperial government and their superiors, who speak in the Emperor's name.
+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.
-*This is a cause of considerable conflict with Machine Cult who worships the ‘Omnissiah’ or ‘Machine-God’ – especially with those factions of the Machine Cult who view the Emperor as a separate entity to the Omnissiah. Because of the Adeptus Mechanicus’ value to the Imperium, this deviation is largely ignored, despite more fanatical elements of the Ecclesiarchy decrying the Machine Cult.
+=== Places of Worship ===
-** In some more fanatical elements of the Imperial cult ‘Beware’ is replaced with ‘Burn’, this tenet is a core factor in the discrimination received by mutants, abhumans and psykers. The Creed is very quiet on the subject of Navigators.
+Within the Imperium, there are many places for the average citizen to give worship to the God Emperor and His many names.
-***The definition of ‘Witch’ is a difficult one to pin down, the Adeptus Ministorum tells followers that Sanctioned Psykers and Astropaths are sacred tools of the Imperium confirmed by Holy Terra, and that ‘Witches’ are renegade and xenos psykers who use their foul powers on the Imperium. The average Imperial citizen struggles to tell the difference between the two, and many legally sanctioned Psykers have lost their lives to mobs that couldn’t differentiate them from Witches.
-****This does not simply refer to the Imperium’s xenophobic hatred of all Xenos life forms but also the universal rejection of any ideas, technology, culture and philosophy brought from ‘without’ – this is a major reason for the conservatism of Imperial society, which treats ‘new’ ideas with immense suspicion.
+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.
-Beyond these Tenets, the Cult Imperialis begins to deviate. The subject of the Emperors gender for example is not universally accepted. Many elements of the Cult point to writings that suggest that when They walked amongst humanity, the Emperor identified, and was written of, as male and so they identify Him as such. Others argue that They transcend all boundaries of humanity and thus represent all genders at once, and use neutral pronouns – while further more might argue that one’s experience of the true God of Humanity is experienced through the lense of your personal experience, and choose to gender Them as they perceive them. It depends on the individual, and is not a subject of great controversy for an Imperium that largely considers gender identity a personal choice.
+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
-There is considerably more debate surrounding the existence of an afterlife. Many teach of the existence of an afterlife where the souls of the Faithful join the God-Emperor in eternal struggle against the Archenemy. There are some who argue that this afterlife is a paradise, an elysian field of rest, but these are often decried as soft, that the TRUE Faithful lend their strength to the God-Emperor in battle. There are detractors, who believe that few receive such a gift, who point to the ‘Living Saints’ of the God-Emperor to show that only the strongest continue after death, and it is the duty of citizens to give their all NOW without questioning what lies beyond.
-It is notable that the Imperial Cult strongly believes in the concept that a human’s soul can be damned by failing to give worship to the God-Emperor or led astray by false beliefs, or simply by failing to follow the tenets of the Cult and Imperial Laws. What happens to the damned when they die is a much more unified message, that they are dragged screaming into the depths of the Hells to suffer in damnation.
+=== 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''.
-Almost universally, the Imperial Cult does believe in an event known as the ‘End Times’ when the God-Emperor will arise from the Golden Throne, when great heroes of the Imperium will return to it, and when the final battle against the Archenemy will take place and the God-Emperor will sit in judgement of all souls, and those found unworthy will be consumed by holy flame. The signs of the End Times are a subject of argument, some say that they will only come when the Imperium falters… others see signs around them now, in the 41st Millenium. Whatever the time to their arrival preparing humanity for these times is a core focus of Cult doctrine.
+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.
-The Primarchs
+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 Imperial creed tells that when the God-Emperor walked amongst humanity They begat Nine Children, each a great warrior, to lead the Legions of the Angels of Death forged by Their hand. Though each of The Nine were beings of flesh and bone, they were everything Humanity should aspire to be, pure of spirit, pure of mind, pure of body, the greatest of the God-Emperors Creations. They were;
+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.
-Lion El'Jonson – known as the Lion and Primarch of the Dark Angels, a Great Knight who slew great monsters with a holy blade, whose Legion served to guard humanity in the darkest reaches. As a result of their relation to his cognomen, Lions are often used to represent a Guardian against darkness and is a reccurring theme in places where the Archenemy is feared to be strongest.
+Within the Priesthood, the majority of Priests are dedicated to the salvation of souls, although there are those that tend to other needs.
-Jaghatai Khan – known as the Great Khan or Warhawk and Primarch of the White Scars, a roaring roving soul who quested far and brought the Imperium to distant worlds, yet returned home to Terra in the hour of the Emperor’s greatest need. Because of their association with the Great Khan, Hawks and other birds of prey, save the Eagle (which is associated with the Emperor), are often favoured symbology by explorers and missionaries.
-Leman Russ – The Wolf King and Primarch of the Space Wolves, the roaring aspect of the fury of the Emperor made manifest, hunting down foes and destroying them utterly. Because of their association with the Wolf King, Wolves are often favoured symbology of Bounty Hunters, Arbites Hunter-Marshalls and even Executioners.
-Rogal Dorn – The Praetorian of Terra, the Primarch of the Imperial Fists, the champion who remained on Terra with the Emperor and led the defence of the Cradle of Humanity in the darkest of hours. Because of Dorn, gauntlets and symbols of clenched fists are often associated with guardianship, favoured talismans by wardens and bodyguards alike.
-Sanguinius – The Great Angel and the Brightest One and the Primarch of the Blood Angels, Sanguinius was the favoured child of the God-Emperor made in the form of a winged human, who gave his life against the Arch-Traitor Horus. Because of him, Angels are considered to represent the radiant glory of the God-Emperor made manifest, the highest form of the faithful, from associations with him much of the iconography displaying Saints and other holy servants of the Imperium with angelic wings comes.
-Ferrus Manus – The Gorgon was the Primarch of the Iron Hands, little is spoken of this Primarch other than to recognise him as a mighty smith who created many wonders. He is known to have been slain by the foul Daemon Fulgrim in the early battles of the Heresy, though his feature in the Imperial mythos does little to explain much about him.
-Roboute Guilliman – The Avenging Son, the Lord-Commander of the Imperium and the Primarch of the Ultramarines, if Sanguinius is celebrated as a tragic lost light of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman is celebrated as a great living icon. The statesman who, after the Emperor retreated to the Golden Throne, rebuilt the Imperium into the form it is in today, organising humanity so it may govern, he is the author of multiple treatises on war, governance and administration that the Imperium relies upon today he is a symbol of ‘civilisation’ to the Imperium
-Vulkan – Unique amongst all the Primarchs, Vulkan had no cognomen, Primarch of the Salamanders Legion, he was a champion of humanity and a protector of the weak, stories talk about him liberating whole worlds with cleansing flame. He is commonly associated with Fire and the Forge and is attributed to the Imperial Creeds symbolic reliance on fire as a symbol of purification.
-Corvus Corax – Known also as the Liberator, the Deliverer and the Shadowed Lord , Corax was the Primarch of the Raven Guard Legion, a dark and shrouded figure who famously liberated many worlds during the Heresy. Because of Corax, Raven’s are often seen as symbols of hidden protection, and vigilance, featuring commonly in the iconography of covert bodies within the Imperium.
-Though the Imperial mythos recognises the mortality of the Primarchs in the deaths of Ferrus Manus and Sanguinius, it only ever speaks of them being killed by great monsters, Sanguinius at the hand of the Arch-Traitor Horus, and Ferrus Manus at the hands one of the Nine Daemons.. Of the remainder, all are considered to have left the Imperium at various points in time, promising to return when they were needed by the Imperium most, or when the End Times come.
+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.
-There are apocryphal accounts that state that the Horus and the eight remaining members of the nine daemons were once Primarchs who turned upon the God-Emperor, their progenitor. Most Ecclesiastical literature dismisses this as falsehood, for the idea of the God-Emperor ever creating something ‘flawed’ is highly unsettling to most followers of the Cult. But it is noted by supporters of this version of the tale, that there are twenty plinths around the Imperial palace, nine are occupied by the statues of the nine Primarchs...the remaining eleven remain empty to this day.
+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.
-To the Imperium, the Primarchs occupy a position in cosmology equivalent to forms of Demi-God, their names are invoked in rite and ritual dependent on their associations.
+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.
-To most Imperial Citizens, Primarchs are as mythic and legendary of the God-Emperor himself, on some worlds they may be recognised in other shapes and roles, their names may be spoken or pronounced differently.
-The Saints
+=== 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.
-The concept of Sainthood within the Imperium is built from the tenet of belief that all humans have a place in the Emperor’s universe. Sainthood is a status awarded by the Ecclesiarchy to those individuals who carry out great works that it believes demonstrate that the God-Emperor acted through them and as such they represent divine manifestations of the God-Emperor’s will.
+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.
-All manner of Imperial citizens have been uplifted though it should come as no surprise to an Imperium beset by foes and conflict that a great number of the uplifted are military heroes, warriors who have lead Crusades and defeated great enemy incursions are more often than not awarded Sainthood. Sainthood comes to others too; people who have changed the Imperium with words, texts and actions are often equally recognised where the Ecclesiarchy believes that their role has improved the God-Emperor’s realm for the better.
+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.
-The majority of Saints are recognised after their deaths, and become mythological figures of veneration and worship to the people of the Imperium. There are a small number of saints recognised across the Imperium; near-mythological figures of veneration whose acts shaped the Imperium as a whole. But for many thousands of recognised Saints worship and veneration of them only occurs on the worlds and in the regions they touched, and as such a figure that might be dominant in the cosmology of one planet’s Cult Imperialis, may not even be known on another.
+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.
-Rare is the Saint who is declared as such while they still draw breath, and to be declared a ‘Living Saint’ is a very complicated proposition. Believed by the Cult Imperialis to be DIRECT manifestations of the God-Emperor’s will, a Living Saint is usually gifted with some aspect of the Emperor be it prophecy, healing light, or superhuman combat abilities. Because of fear of charlatans, psykers and sorcerers masquerading as these holy figures (and indeed the Imperium has been led astray before) the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition have made it very difficult for a Living Saint to be recognised officially until they have passed a complicated series of tests under direct observation. The last of these is martyrdom: a true Living Saint will be reborn when the Imperium needs them most. The majority of candidates fail this final test and the Ecclesiarchy may recognise them as blessed Faithful or Saints for their actions.
-Within the Prosperitas Sector the following Saints are greatly venerated being a mix of ancient Imperial heroes and locally recognised Saints;
+=== The Adepta Sororitas ===
+The Adepta Sororitas was formed as a division of the Ecclesiarchy in M.36, shortly after the Decree Passive. Founded by [[The Imperial Faith|Saint Alicia]] and [[The Imperial Faith|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 [[The Ordo Prosperitas|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).
-Saint Keeler – Known as the First Saint and the Emperor’s Prophet, Euphrati Keeler was a Remembrancer responsible for recording the Great Crusade during its final years. She is venerated as the Prophet responsible for the revelation of the godhood of the God-Emperor who set humanity on its path to veneration. She is an essential figure in the Imperial cult, and it is not uncommon to give worship to the Prophet on a par with the Primarchs, much of her story is unknown and many priests have dedicated years to understanding the Prophet’s history.
+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:
-Saint Malcador – Also known as the Sigilite and Malcador the Hero is a mysterious figure in the history of the Imperium, the Emperor’s right hand throughout the Great Crusade and the Heresy, Malcador founded many of the institutions of mankind, including the Holy Ordos. It is known he was Martyred during the Battle of Terra when he sat upon the Golden Throne and kept the Astronomicon ablaze while the Emperor confronted the Arch-Traitor Horus and for this reason the Emperor Themself declared him a Saint as they ascended the Golden Throne.
-Saint Thor – Sebastian Thor rose to prominence when the Tyrant Goge Vandire attempted to seize control of the Imperium. Thor was blessed of the Emperor and led a Crusade of Holy Forces including the Angels of Death against the tyrant, and ending the so-called Reign of Blood. A humble man who initially refused the position, Thor became the 292nd Ecclesiarch of the Ecclesiarchy and would reform it immensely, including the issue of the Decree Passive which disbanded all Ecclesiarchy armed forces, save for the foundation of the Adepta Sororitas – for many followers of the Imperial Cult his rise marks the beginning of the Temple as it is today, though to some more militant figures his prominence is controversial given he eroded much of the power of the Ecclesiarchy.
-Saint Dominicia and the Five Companions – Saint Dominicia and her five companions, Arabella, Katherine, Lucia, Mina, and Silvana are considered to be the original Soror’s, although it was Thor who led a Crusade to Terra, it was Dominicia who slew the Tyrant Vandire by her hand. She had been tricked into many years of service to him but, according to legend, was visited by the Emperor which led to her casting him down personally. After the conflict, she and the five companions led the formation of the elite fighting cadres of the Adepta Sororitas.
-Local Saints of the Prosperitas Sector.
-Saint Khan-Hattilik – The figure of Khan-Hattilik is a mysterious one, unique to the history of Korimesta, the legends surrounding them are clear, their identity is not so much. The most common version of the tale of the Saint speaks of a time when the Imperium came to the planet that one of the Houses that refused to surrender to the Imperium dispatched the Asassin, Khan-Hattilik, to murder the head of the Imperial Delegation. Legends are that the head of the delegation, a Priest, found the Assassin in her bedchambers, and rather than fight them or cry out for her guards, spent many hours speaking with them. Whatever passed between them is unknown, but the next day the throats of each and every House which had opposed the Imperium, were found cut. To this day the role of the Assassin in unifiying Korimesta with the Imperium is honoured by a festival where identities are masked, in reverence to them.
-Saint Nafisa – Saint Nafisa of the Order of His Sanguine Tears is a great champion of the Prosperitas Crusade, a Soror who led many successful incursions against Archenemy held world brought many worlds in Subsector Tertius into the Imperium. Nafisa was amongst those Imperials who discovered the Cadian passage that makes the Sector vital to Imperial supply lines in Cadia. Nafisa left the Sector via that passage with much of the Order of His Sanguine Tears, who would not return until the arrival of Cardinal-Emissarius Grulge, and would never see her home again, killed in battle against Heretics in the Cadia Subsector. Her bones are preserved now in a Shrine on Nivalis, the Order of His Sanguine Tears believe in a prophecy that when the Sector needs her most, the Saint will arise again, and strike back at the Archenemy, and ascend to being a Living Saint.
-Saint Ignace of the Officio Cochlea Lucidae – Saint Ignace is a unusual figure in the history of the Prosperitas Sector, in that they are noted for their devotion to the Administratum, a Scribe by training, Ignace famously matyred themselves shouldering the workload of the lost scribes and functionaries of the Administratum consumed by the Lash of the Eye in 328.M41. This might seem like a strange task to be granted Sainthood for, but through their actions many displaced refugees from Subsector Tenebris were safely and swiftly resettled and found aid and supplies to survive, and so they are the patron saint of many of the refugees of that lost sector.
+* '''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.
-Saint Leonidas of Persephon – The patron Saint of the Persephon System, Marshall Leonidas was one of the companions of Warmaster Durovera, he is credited with fighting a bloody battle to rip the system from the hands of the Archenemy, and died upon the field of battle leading the final bloody liberation of Persephon IV. He is not entirely popular with the Sector Ecclesiarchy, who see his appointment a political recognition done as a political favour to Warmaster Durovera to try and buy her support by the Ecclesiarchy. Many of the shrines to Saint Leonidas have been desecrated by the Ork occupation of Persephon IV and he is considered highly sacred by Persephonian Regiments.
-Saint Nongentae of Ferraeus – Perhaps one of the most controversial of the Saints of the Prosperitas Sector, Saint Nongentae was not born a follower of the Imperial cult. She was a Tech Priest of Ferraeus, an initiate of the Collegia Architecton of the Machine Cult, but in life she became deeply involved with overseeing the construction of the Grand Temple of Nivalis. Her embrace of the Emperor-as-Omnissiah is somewhat controversial amongst some of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the decision to enshrine her remains on Nivalis is of considerable controversy with Ferraeus. In death, Nongentae is the Patron-Saint who guards the souls of those who the Ecclesiarchy  believes risk their faith my joining the Machine Cult in the service of the Imperium – many believe her beatification is simultaneously a convenient legal fiction to guard those Imperials who join the Machine Cult to learn from it, and a spit in the Eye from the Ecclesiarchy to the Cult Mechanicus.
-It is a subject of some controversy that Warmaster Durovera I was never recognised by the Ecclesiarchy as an Imperial Saint where many other Warmasters have historically been recognised by the Imperium for beatification, especially given the immense success she had in her campaign to retake the Prosperitas Sector.
+* '''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.
-Some rumours suggest this is because she was, in life, not the most reverent of members of the Imperial Creed, a woman who did what she wanted and had very little time for ceremony, or Priests, indeed it is rumoured that she either struck, or duelled and killed, the first Cardinal appointed to the Prosperitas Sector, when they raised her ire, a factor that did not make her popular at all with the Ecclesiarch. Some rumours belief that it is simply because the Ecclesiarchy did not want to give the legitimacy of relations to a Saint to her disappointing line of heirs who squandered much of what she won for her House.
+* '''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.
-For whatever reasons, she goes unrecognised, simply a Hero of the Imperium, rather than a Saint.
+* '''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.