
                          Chapter 14 - Light of the Emperor
                          =================================

14.1  Introduction
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 This chapter is about the history and organisation of the Adeptus Ministorum, 
the branch of the Adeptus Terra founded on the worship of the Emperor of 
Mankind.  Through its preachers, confessors and missionaries, the Ministorum 
controls the religion of the masses, focusing it on the worship of the 
Emperor.  The Imperial Creed taught by the Ministorum is the only official 
religion of the Imperium, anything else is deemed Heretical.  The ancient 
rites and verses can be interpreted in many ways, but any extreme deviance 
from the holy strictures is severely dealt with.

 The Adeptus Ministorum is headed by a figure called the Ecclesiarch, who 
holds a permanent seat with the High Lords of Terra.  Indeed, an alternative 
and common name for the Ministorum is the Ecclesiarchy, named after its 
influential head.


14.2  History
=-=-=-=-=-=-=

14.2.1  The Birth of the Church
-------------------------------

 Though nearly 10,000 years old now, the roots of the Ecclesiarchy, sealed in 
the vaults of the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra, can still be traced.  The 
oldest texts, in the Vault of Origins, date back to the Horus Heresy, and 
many of these texts are so brittle with age that they must be kept in a stasis 
field to preserve them.  Only the highest ranking members of the Ministorum 
are allowed access to this most sacred of vaults.  Even the Inquisition are 
denied access, the Ecclesiarchy holding enough sway to hold the Inquisition 
at arms length in this area.

 The Emperor was a great man when he walked the Earth before the Horus Heresy, 
and worshipped as a god even before his incarceration in the Golden Throne.  
The Horus Heresy focussed this general worship of the Imperiums most powerful 
and psychically gifted man into a laser beam.  The fate of Mankind hung in the 
balance.  The Emperor was victorious, but almost mortally wounded both 
physically and psychically.  With his internment into the Golden Throne, the 
Emperors spirit rose into the Warp.  Almost by definition, the Emperor became 
a god.

 The Imperium was swept into a surge in adoration and worship of the God 
Emperor.  Cults grew and prospered, some small, some large.  As things usually 
happen, the large ones prospered, the small ones slowly faded away or were 
assimilated into the larger ones.  The most successful of these cults was to 
be the Temple of the Saviour Emperor.

 The Temple of the Saviour Emperor was based on Terra.  Its original leader is 
known today as Fastidicus, his true name lost to the eons, Fastidicus meaning 
'Prophet' in one of the ancient Terran tongues.  Soon, the cult covered the 
whole of Terra.  Missionaries spread the lessons of the cult far and wide, and 
soon it had an immense following.  At the age of 120, Fastidicus died.  The 
cult continued to thrive, smaller sects incorporated or assimilated into it, 
whether they wanted to be or not.  On Terra, the only non-aderants were the 
Adepts of the Cult Mechanicus and the Space Marines, both of which groups had 
their own forms of ritual and adoration.

 In the early 32nd millenium, the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was recognised 
as the official religion of the Imperium and given the title of the Adeptus 
Ministorum.  Two centuries later the then Ecclesiarch, Veneris II, became a 
High Lord of Terra.  Over the next three hundred years the importance of the 
Ecclesiarchy became such that the seat of the Ecclesiarch became a permanent 
one among the High Lords of Terra.

 The Ecclesiarchy continued to prosper and grow, and the Imperium was divided 
into areas called Dioceses, each ruled by a Cardinal.  As the Ministorum grew, 
a whole subsection of the establishment was established to attend to the 
running of the organisation.  Deacons answered to Arch-deacons, who in turn 
answered to their Cardinal.  Cardinals in turn were responsible to the Bishops 
of the Holy Synod, which worked in concert with the Ecclesiarch, the 
Ministorums head, at least in theory.  The Holy Synod was responsible for the 
implementation of the Ecclesiarchs wishes.


14.2.2  The Confederation of Light
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 For all the Ministorums growth, however, one rival order threated it yet.  
The Confederation of Light, centred and founded on the planet of Dimmamar, was 
a penitent faith whose ideas of poverty and humble living directly 
contradicted the teachings of the Ministorum.  Powerful as it was, the 
Ministorum could do little to challenge the power base of the Confereration of 
Light.  The first War of Faith was declared by a unanimous vote of the High 
Lords of Terra.

 The Confederation of Light was declared Heretical, and the war machine of the 
Imperium was turned on the Confederation of Light.  Though the odd cell or 
shrine escaped, hidden, the Confederation of Light, as a working religion, 
was decimated.  Little known to the Ministorum, it survived, its part not yet 
played out in the history to come.

 By the end of the 33rd millenium, with the exception of the planets of the 
Adeptus Mechanicus and the Space Marine worlds, whom had an tense 'agreement' 
with the Ecclesiarchy not to impose on each others territory, every Imperial 
world was marked with temples or shrines to the God Emperor.  The tithes of 
the Ministorums countless followers flowed into the coffers, to fund more 
Wars of Faith to maintain the Ecclesiarchys control.


14.2.3  The Age of Apostacy
---------------------------

 As the power of the Ecclesiarchy grew, its influence spread to every facet 
of life, all from the lowliest scribe to the High Lords of Terra found their 
lives and decisions increasing influenced by the will of the Ministorum.  
Soon the Ecclesiarchy was directing, indirectly of course, Imperial law and 
resources.  Elements of the Imperium railed against such control.  The 
Fabricator General of the Adeptus Mechanicus opposed the will of the 
Ecclesiarchy, and the Masters of the Space Marine Chapters increasingly 
looked upon Imperial orders with a jaundiced eye.  Increasingly, the 
Administratum itself began to fight against the Ecclesiarchal will.

 The Administratum began to re-establish itself as the binding power at the 
centre of the Imperium, beginning a feud that has lasted 7000 years right up 
to the present day.  From the late 34th to the early 35th millenium, the 
Ecclesiarchys power waned.  Following a succession of incompetent 
Ecclesiarchs, the Administratum grew to dictate, behind the scenes, the 
agenda of the Holy Synod, hall of the most powerful Ecclesiarchal members.

 Ecclesiarch Benedin IV saw what was happening, and in a bid to escape the 
control of the Administratum, moved the Holy Synod and power centre of the 
Ecclesiarchy to Ophelia VII, in the Segmentum Tempestus.  Separated from the 
Administratum, the power of the Ecclesiarchy grew again.  It formed its own 
fleet of spacecraft and armies, the Frateris Templars.  Adeptus Ministorum 
buildings on Earth fell to ruin.  In the middle of the 35th millenium, 
Ecclesiarch Greigor XI's announced sweeping changes, that the Holy Synod and 
Adeptus Ministorum move back to Earth.  Dissenting voices were heard, but he 
pushed the measure through and the newly rebuilt halls of the Holy Synod on 
Terra opened once more.  Ministorum tithes, already increased uncomfortably 
high over the years, increased further to pay for the rebuilding.  Finally, 
following the unveiling of several radical innovations, Greigor died of food 
poisoning, his more radical reforms never carried out.

 Adeptus Ministorum tithes later increased yet more.  Many worlds openly 
rebelled against the ruinous tithes, even Planetary Governors spoke out.  
The cries went unheeded, and officials of the rebellious worlds and systems 
were denounced as Heretical and executed.  The high tithes payed for the 
decoration of the Ecclesiarchal palaces with the rarest metals and gems.  
The unrest continued abated, each time crushed by the Frateris military.  
Warp storms increased, soon to cut off entire systems and make long range 
travel impossible.  With the attention of the Ministorum and Administratum both 
turned inward toward their feud, the Ecclesiarchys bloodthirsty means of 
controlling Heresy and increased attacks by Chaos and alien forces, the 
Imperium fragmented into anarchy.


14.2.4  Vandires Reign of Blood
-------------------------------

 Goge Vandire became the 361st High Lord of the Administratum.  Always an 
opponent of the Ecclesiarchys power, he engineered the election of 
Ecclesiarch Paulis III, an incompetent easily controlled by Vandire.  In the 
past High Lords of the Administratum had covertly manipulated the 
Ecclesiarchy.  Instead, Vandire took the step of a straightforward military 
coup of the Adeptus Ministorum, taking upon himself the dual role of 
Ecclesiarch and Master of the Administratum.  His opponents within the 
Ministorum lost in a Warp storm while fleeing to Ophelia VII, Vandire quickly 
took total control of both the Ecclesiarchy and Administratum.

 Vandire was insane, a paranoid megalomanic.  Over time his twisted mind 
ordered countless cruel, murderous and unnecessary acts of violence and 
genocide.  It was an era that would become known as the Reign of Blood.

 A cult founded on San Leor stands out in history.  Vandire learned that the 
cult, composed only of female members, practised devotion to the Emperor 
through inner purity and the arts of war.  It called itself the Daughters of 
the Emperor.  Vandire honoured the otherwise insigificant world with an 
Ecclesiarchal visit.  The Daughters of the Emperor, witnessing an arranged 
'feat' that apparently proved he was blessed by the Emperor, all took vows of 
fealty to him.  They became his Ecclesiarchal bodyguard, and renamed the 
Brides of the Emperor.  Hardened fighters, they saved him from attempted 
assassination by the Holy Synod on at least one occasion.

 Vandires violent reign lasted for 70 years from his ascension to the 
Ecclesiarchal throne.  Getting old, Vandires body was pumped full of drugs to 
keep the inevitable diseases and plagues of old age at bay, and with the guns 
of the Brides of the Emperor at his command, he still commanded with an iron 
grip.  It was with trepidation that a young agent appeared at Vandires palace 
with news from the north of the Galaxy, from an area around the planet 
Dimmamar.  Long thought destroyed, the Confederation of Light was active once 
more, and had denounced Vandire as a traitor to the Imperium.  Across the 
Segmentum Obscuras, one name was heard time and time again: Sebastian Thor.

 Noone knew who this Sebastian Thor was.  The High Lords of Terra, puppets of 
Vandire all, debated for a month what action to take, Vandire himself 
increasingly self-withdrawn.  Within three months 80 more systems had declared 
loyalty to the Confederation of Light.  The Frateris Templars were ordered to 
raze Dimmamar and every living thing on it.  Duly sent, the war fleet was 
smashed asunder in a Warp storm, and it is said those who pass close by can 
still hear the screams of those who died in it.  It is an area of ill omen now 
known as the Storm of the Emperors Wrath.

 The core of the Frateris military smashed, Segmentum Obscuras erupted into 
rebellion.  The name of Sebastian Thor, still, was heard repeatedly.  To the 
High Lords on Terra, this figure seemed intent on smashing the Ecclesiarchy 
and, possibly, the whole Imperium.  They were stunned.

 Thor was no daemonic entity or alien puppet intent on destroying the 
Imperium.  He was a man, who claimed to have received a vision from the 
Emperor that disaster was befalling Mankind, taking the pulpit mid-sermon from 
a local preacher and denouncing the ways of the Ecclesiarchy.  Such was his 
eloquence, the people believed and countless others flocked to hear his 
sermons.  Imperial Commander Gaius Welkonnen placed Dimmamars army at Thors 
disposal.  The army soon grew to over 5 million over the next year, and slowly 
made its way across the galaxy, towards Terra.

 Legends grew around Thor, some explainable by his oratory, others not so, 
such as the utter calmness of the Warp as Thor journeyed from system to 
system, at a time when Warp storms still gripped the rest of the Galaxy, and 
had done for many hundreds of years.  The Paternova of the Navigators dubbed 
him Abstracta Preomnis, 'Master of the Warp'.  News spread, and Thor was soon 
hailed as a god-like being.  Its armed might destroyed in the Storm of the 
Emperors Wrath, the Adeptus Ministorum could do little as Thor converted 
system after system, diocese after diocese, to his words.  The tide had turned 
against Vandire, he had pushed the masses too far, and now they had a leader 
to unite them.

 More disturbing news still was to come to Vandires council of High Lords.  Up 
to now, the Adeptus Mechanicus and Space Marine Chapters had participated 
little in the Age of Apostacy, instead withdrawing to and defending their own 
sectors as fortresses amidst the sea of anarchy.  Now they voiced their support 
for Sebastian Thor, and the Adeptus Mechanicus issued a summons to the High 
Lords to answer for their actions and indict Vandire as a traitor.  Vandire 
dissolved the council of High Lords and ordered his remaining forces to attack 
the now rebellious Adeptus Astartes and Mechanicus.  Many officers refused, to 
be hung and denounced as Heretics, replaced by more tractable commanders.  
But Vandires treachery was becoming readily apparent.

 Under order from Gastaph Hedriatix, Fabricator General of the Adeptus 
Mechanicus, the Martian Tech-Guard transported to Earth and, joining with the 
Space Marine Chapters, attacked the Imperial palace.  By now the Brides of the 
Emperor were some 10,000 strong, and they successfully defended the conclave 
of Vandire in the palace from outside assault.  Yet it was the threat inside 
that was to prove Vandires undoing.  Another organisation had remained apart 
from the wanton bloodshed of the Reign of Blood, and that was the Adeptus 
Custodes, the bodyguard of the Emperor himself.  To escape the anarchy they 
had cut themselves off from the outside completely.  Only scraps of 
information filtered through to theirs, the most holy of places, and only when 
the Adeptus Astartes and Mechanicus moved against Vandire did they realise 
his treachery.  A Centurion of the Companions, with a contingent of 
Custodians, surfaced not far from Vandires stronghold, to be met by the Brides 
of the Emperor.  For an hour he made a plea to the Brides to revoke their 
oaths, but they would not listen and he had but one option left.  The Centurion 
led the Brides leader and a bodyguard of five sisters to look upon the face of 
the Emperor himself.

 What the Brides saw is not known, sworn to secrecy by the Custodians.  When 
they emerged from the darkness of the tunnels, their eyes burned with 
unparalleled anger and hatred.  Led directly back to the audience chamber of 
Vandire himself, the Brides leader, Alicia Dominica, spoke of the treachery of 
Vandire and his corruption of the Ecclesiarchy and Imperium, but most of all 
of the perversion of the Brides order.  All this time, Vandire was oblivious 
of the revolt around him.  He blinked in surprise as he saw the assembled 
warriors around him, the sound of gunfire fading as the message was passed 
around the Imperial palace.  Vandire launched into a bloodthirsty tirade, 
explaining which systems needed to be crushed, issueing orders to attack Thor 
and his army.  But his scribes were gone now, and Vandire was confronted by 
the vengeful Brides of the Emperor, who now denounced the name and had become 
once more the Daughters of the Emperor.  Denouncing him, Alicia issued the 
sentence of death, before Vandires head was removed in one stroke, cleaving 
his rosarius in two.

 The Reign of Blood was ended.


14.2.5  The Ecclesiarchy Reborn
-------------------------------

 The Imperium was left in disarray.  In order to rebuild it, Hediatrix, 
Fabricator General of the Adeptus Mechanicus, set about resurrecting what 
remained of the High Lords of Terra.  Organisations such as the Navigators and 
Chartist Captains were encouraged to purge their own ranks, Imperial 
Commanders were promoted from those who had opposed Vandire, while other High 
Lords were vindicated by their peers and duly kept their seats in the 
Council.  However, there was still no Ecclesiarch.

 Messages were sent to Sebastian Thor, requesting that he journey immediately 
to Earth.  He refused, saying he had too much to do before he could return to 
Terra.  A fast transport ship was sent to bring Thor back, but again he 
refused.  Exasperated, the High Lords issued a decree declaring Thor a 
traitor, and that he stand trial on Terra.  Standing trial, he was found 
innocent on all charges.  The High Lords met for three days to decide what to 
do with him.

 Found innocent on all counts, and with the Imperium in need of spiritual 
guidance, Thor was offered the position of Ecclesiarch.  While his supporters 
roared their approval, he quietly refused.  Chaos erupted in the chamber.  
Captain-General Excelsor of the Adeptus Custodes took Thor aside and spoke to 
him.  While it is not known what he said, it is believed to have been "You 
will leave Terra as an Ecclesiarch, or you will not leave Terra at all..."

 Thor accepted, but on certain conditions.  He would have the full backing of 
the High Lords whenever he needed it.  He would make changes to the 
Ecclesiarchy and they would trust him in his actions.  He also wanted to 
travel the Imperium preaching as he had been.  Thor I became the 292nd 
Ecclesiarch.

 Thor formed the Synod Ministra on Ophelia VII.  The Holy Synod remains active 
on Terra, while the Synod Ministra acts as a second governing body further 
from Terra.  Second, dioceses were split into smaller areas.  In the year 
288.M36 the Decree Passive came into force, forbidding the Ecclesiarchy from 
commanding any 'men under arms'.  The Frateris Templars were disbanded.  Thor, 
however, saw some military force would be needed, and kept the one force he 
was allowed to keep under the Decree Passive.  Due to the archaic wording of 
the law, the Daughters of the Emperor did not break the ban.  They became the 
Orders Militant of the Adeptus Sororitas.

 After 10 years on Terra, Thor left to preach across the Galaxy once more.  At 
the age of 112 he finally returned, living for another six months before the 
Emperor claimed his soul.  Seventy million pilgrims filed past his tomb within 
the first year, and the people of the Imperium still travel to Terra to gaze 
upon the face of the Emperors most faithful servant.


14.2.6  The Plague of Unbelief
------------------------------

 Around the time of the Reign of Blood, a few decades after Sebastian Thor had 
ascended the Ecclesiarchal throne, Cardinal Bucharis was to start the Plague 
of Unbelief.  Cut off by Warp storms, Bucharis and the surrounding region had 
not yet heard the news of Thors crusade, and Cardinal Bucharis commanded a 
diocese centred on Galthamor to the Galactic South-West of Earth.  Driven by 
jealousy of his peers achievements, Bucharis built a great temple to the 
Emperors glory on his Cardinal planet.  After enslaving the men and women and 
expiring the resources of Galthamor, he needed more men and resources.

 Bucharis conquered the nearby world of Rhanda.  With the plentiful supplies 
and riches of that world, Bucharis' wealth grew.  Here he joined forces with 
renegade Imperial Navy Admiral Sehalla, and a colonel of the Rigellian XXV 
Regiment called Gasto.  With the Navy and Imperial Guardsmen at his disposal, 
Bucharis carved out a small empire to the Galactic West of Earth and in seven 
years 50 star systems were under his regime.

 News of Sebastian Thor had not yet filtered through to the area, and when it 
finally did, he suppressed it, controlling as he did all interstellar travel 
and communication in his realm.  Bucharis announced the Ecclesiarchy had 
fallen, corrupted by traitors and Heretics.  He declared himself the true 
mouth piece of the Emperor and head of the Adeptus Ministorum.  To those who 
heard his speeches, Galthamor became the new centre of the Ecclesiarchy.

 The Plague of Unbelief spread, as did Bucharis' law.  On worlds in his 
Empire, man fought man, the strong sought to weed out the weak.  The 
Mercenary Guard was sent northwards and westwards, extending Bucharis' empire 
in those directions.  To the south he steered clear of the Naval base at 
Bakka, drew a wide berth around Cadia and the Eye of Terror and the ships of 
Battlefleet Pacificus on Hydrophur bowed to Bucharis' command.  Bucharis was 
almost ready to take on the might of Terra.  Fortunately, he was to make a 
grave error.

 The expanding territories of Bucharis took him to the systems surrounding 
Fenris, home world of the Space Wolves chapter of Space Marines.  
Encountering the cruiser 'Claws of Russ' as it was preparing to leave, 
Bucharis dismissed it as pure chance.  As soon as he entered the system that 
contained Fenris, however, the Space Wolves war fleet attacked.  Despite 2/3 
of his fleet occupied by the Space Wolves attack, he managed to get troops 
down to the Fenrisian surface, where he managed to eventually surround the 
Fang, fortress of the Space Wolves chapter.  A siege set in, lasting three 
years.  Believing one last surgical assault would end it, he readied his 
troops for battle.  But Fate intervened once more, and Bucharis war fleet met 
a squadron of Space Wolves battle barges, heading back to their home world.  
Caught between the hammer and the anvil, his fleet was crushed.  Bucharis 
managed to escape on a shuttle.  Leaving Fenris to the Space Wolves, Bucharis 
pulled back his northern forces and consolidated the remainder of his domain.

 Meanwhile, while Bucharis was occupied with Fenris, others of his commanders 
had continued west.  One troublesome world was Chiros, which so far had 
resisted attempts to take it.  Eventually, the commander of the invasion force 
was forced to surrender to the Chirosians.  Soon after, the mining planet of 
Guryan managed to successfully rebel against Bucharis' hold.  After Guryan 
came Dolsia, then Vaust.  The rebellions were cutting a path across his 
empire, straight towards Galthamor.  On Colcha Bucharis laid an ambush.  When 
the fleet came out of the Warp the trap was sprung and the fleet almost 
entirely destroyed.  Save for one sole shuttle, which escaped to the planets 
surface.

 Wary of the single shuttle that escaped, the commander kept his forces on 
alert and set in to play the waiting game.  A year passed, uneventfully.  
Then, suddenly, the quiet farmers of Colcha went berserk.  They burnt the crop 
fields, stormed the barracks and overwhelmed the enemy.  Pushed from Colcha, 
and then Lima Rogan Troudor, and a score of other worlds, Bucharis started to 
run out of money.  Many of his soldiers deserted, dissension set in, and the 
revolts continued, an arrow pointing at the heart of the apostate Cardinal.  
Finally, Methalor, the closest system to Galthamor fell.  Bucharis doubled 
the cordon on his home system.  Every incoming vessel was to be stopped and 
searched.  Soon, a messenger arrived at the palace of Bucharis.  The message 
was from Confessor Dolan Chirosius, and demanded the immediate surrender of 
Bucharis.  The messenger was duly fed to the crows.  Confessor Dolan would be 
coming to Galthamor soon, and soon enough Dolan was found and taken into 
custody.

 Dolan was driven through the street, chained and whipped with flails.  Over 
an ordeal lasting over six months, he was constantly tortured, deprived of 
sleep, and had only a handful of water a day to live on.  Yet all the while 
he remained defiant.  Bucharis ordered a public trial of the upstart, 
charging him with blasphemy and Heresy, along with treachery, sedition and 
rebellion for good measure.  He wanted Dolan dead, but didn't want to provide 
the people with a martyr to rally behind.  He had to shame Dolan, who would 
then be killed, painfully and over a long period of time.  The trial was 
broadcast across all of Bucharis' domain.  After five months, the prosecution 
had completed its case, and Dolan was allowed to present his defence - the 
trial had to appear fair after all.  For days Dolan spoke, how he whipped up 
countless planets into rebellion of Bucharis, explaining Bucharis' tyranny 
and encouraging worlds to rise up in arms.  At the end, Bucharis spoke.  He 
said Dolans own testimony had condemned him.  Dolan was taken away to the 
dungeons.  After eight months, Dolan had still not given in the would-be 
Ecclesiarchs torturers.  When he finally died, his body was maimed beyond 
recognotion, and left for the wolves and vultures.  The carrion never had 
their banquet: the Confessors body disappeared soon after and was never 
found.

 Bucharis' plan to shame Dolan backfired.  In allowing the Confessor to 
speak, he allowed his message to spread further across the stars than it 
would ever have done otherwise.  On the proclaimation of Dolans death, 
Bucharis' empire erupted into revolt.  Almost as one, the tyrants grip on 
world after world was quashed.  The palace itself was stormed, and traitors in 
his household opened the gates to let them in.  Bucharis made his way to the 
spaceport, where he had a transport ready to evacuate should the need arise.  
He never made it off planet.


14.3  The Organisation of the Ecclesiarchy
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

14.3.1  The Priesthood
----------------------

 The Ministorum is, approximately, organised as follows:

   Ecclesiarch-----------------------------\
      |                                    |
   Bishops (sit on the Synods)      Adeptus Sororitas
      |
   Cardinals (oversee Dioceses)          }
      |                                  }
   Arch-deacons                          }
      |                                  }
   Deacons                               }
      |                                  }-Frateris clergy
    Deans                                }
      |                                  }
   Pontifexes                            }
      |                                  }
   Missionaries, Preachers, Confessors   }

 At the centre of the Ecclesiarchy are the two Synods, the Holy Synod on 
Earth and the Synod Ministra based on Ophelia VII.  Once there was only the 
Holy Synod, but the Synod Ministra was established by Sebastian Thor 
following the Reign of Blood.  It was decided the Ecclesiarchy could never 
again be allowed to be controlled by the Adeptus organisations of Earth 
(such as the Administratum), thus the Synod Ministra was founded on Ophelia 
VII, far enough from the Earth not to be influenced by anyone other than the 
Ecclesiarch.

 The Synods are each composed of Bishops, who sit and debate the way the 
Ministorum is run and make the decisions.  They are influenced, to an extent, 
by the Ecclesiarch on Terra (the Holy Synod especially, for obvious reasons), 
but his main role is to represent the Ecclesiarchy on the Council of High 
Lords.  Occasionally, the Ecclesiarch will make a proclamation, which the 
Synods of Terra and Ophelia VII are expected to respect and implement.  Most 
Bishops are promoted from the ranks of Cardinals.

 The Ministorum divides the galaxy into areas called Dioceses, each given 
pastoral care by a Cardinal Astral, or simply Cardinal.  To aid him in that 
task are Arch-deacons, who are aided by Deacons.  Deacons oversee the 
Pontifexes (regional leaders), Missionaries, Preachers, Confessors and 
Arch-confessors.  A preacher or confessor is approximately the equivalent of 
a local priest in Real Life (TM), looking after one or more shrines or 
temples, each of which serves the religious needs of a small community.  Many 
worlds have many thousands of shrines and almost as many preachers.

 Only the Ecclesiarch can declare a War of Faith.  The difference between a 
Crusade and War of Faith is its orgins and participants.  A Crusade is 
ordered by the authority of all the High Lords of Terra and involves all the 
major Imperial forces including the Space Marines, Adeptus Mechanicus, 
Imperial Guard Imperial Navy and Adeptus Ministorum.  A War of Faith is made 
by command of the Ecclesiarch alone and primarily involves only the Adeptus 
Ministorum and the followers of the Imperial Creed.  Otherwise, the two 
overlap to an extent.  The Ecclesiarch can declare a Crusade also a War of 
Faith, but not all Wars of Faith are Crusades.  When not part of a Crusade, 
Wars of Faith are funded solely by the Ecclesiarchy, and, furthermore, the 
War of Faith must still be approved by the other members of the Council of 
High Lords.


14.4.2  The Adeptus Sororitas
-----------------------------

 When Sebastian Thor became Ecclesiarch after the Age of Apostacy, there were 
4000 warriors remaining who formed the Daughters of the Emperor.  The cult 
was, arbeit with difficulty, incorporated into the Imperial Creed and made 
the military might of the Ecclesiarchy, the Adeptus Sororitas.  Composed all 
of women, the Sisters are collectively known as the Sisters of Battle, or 
Sisterhood.  Just as there were two Synods founded under Thor, then the Battle 
Sisters were split into two Convents: the Convent Prioris on Terra and the 
Convent Sanctorum on Ophelia VII.

  Convent Sanctorum--+--Orders Militant-----+--Order of the Bloody Rose
                     |                      +--Order of our Martyred Lady
  (based on          |                      +--Order of our Valourous Heart
    Ophelia VII)     |
                     +--Orders Hospitaller--+--Order of the Eternal Candle
                     |                      +--Order of Serenity
                     |
                     +--Orders Famulous-----+--Order of the Key
                     |                      +--Order of the Gate
                     |
                     +--Orders Dialogous----+--Order of the Holy Word
                     |                      +--Order of the Quill
                     |
                     +--Minor Orders

  Convent Prioris----+--Orders Militant-----+--Order of the Sacred Rose
                     |                      +--Order of the Ebon Chalice
  (based on Terra)   |                      +--Order of the Argent Shroud
                     |
                     +--Orders Hospitaller--+--Order of the Cleansing Water
                     |                      +--Order of the Torch
                     |
                     +--Orders Famulous-----+--Order of the Holy Seal
                     |                      +--Order of the Sacred Coin
                     |
                     +--Orders Dialogous----+--Order of the Sacred Oath
                     |                      +--Order of the Lexicon
                     |
                     +--Minor Orders

 There is an organisation run by the Ecclesiarchy called the Schola Progenium, 
whose job it is to take care of those children who are orphans of Imperial 
servants, bringing them up according to the Imperial Creed.  A number of 
these, the most able, are inducted into the Sisterhood, so that the ranks of 
the Adeptus Sororitas soon numbered over 10,000 warriors.  Ecclesiarch Alexis 
XXII split the Orders Militant of the two Convents each into two, founding 
the Orders of the Ebon Chalice, Valorous Heart, Martyred Lady and Argent 
Shroud.  2500 years later, Deacis VI founded two more Orders: the Bloody Rose 
and Sacred Rose.

 The Orders Militant of the Sisterhood still closely follow the way of life of 
the original Daughters of the Emperor.  They are the most visible face of the 
Sisterhood, the armed might of the Ecclesiarchy, enforcing its will across 
the galaxy and fighting alien incursions alongside the other Imperial 
fighting forces.  While the Orders Militant and the Space Marine chapters have 
never seen eye to eye, they respect each others martial prowess and often a 
combined effort of these two forces has seen off an incursion of Mankinds 
enemies.  The most able of these Battle Sisters are trained given special 
training as the elite Seraphim.  While the standard armament of the sisters 
is, like the Space Marines, the boltgun, a number of sisters are also trained 
to use heavy weapons such as heavy flamers and missile launchers.

 There are some who say the High Lords of Terra and the Inquisition were not 
pleased with the Ecclesiarchy flouting the spirit, if not the letter, of the 
Decree Passive in keeping the Adeptus Sororitas as a fighting force of the 
Ecclesiarchy.  Certainly, soon after their incorporation into the Ecclesiarchy,
the Adeptus Sororitas signed a document that bound them to the Ordo Hereticus 
of the Inquisition.  The Ordo Hereticus was also newly formed following the 
Age of Apostasy, and the document was the Convocation of Nephilim.  It bound 
the Adeptus Sororitas as the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Hereticus.  Some 
believe the knowledge shared with the Sisters before the Golden Throne before 
beheading Vandire may be connected to the organisations joining forces, 
knowledge dire enough for them to wish to formally bind the Adeptus Sororitas 
and Ordo Hereticus together in opposition of whatever Heresy may await in the 
future.  Others simply think the Convocation was intended to curb the power 
of the Ecclesiarchy, exploiting the Sororitas as a loyal and zealous fighting 
force that could be used to enforce the agenda of the newly formed Ordo and 
turning a blind eye to the flouting of the spirit of the Decree Passive.  
Whatever the truth, only the highest ranking members of either organisation 
know it.  The Adeptus Sororitas functions as the fighting arm of both the 
Ecclesiarchy and the Ordo Hereticus.  Only rarely have the the two 
organisations whom the Sisterhood serves come into opposition, and in each 
case either the Orders Dialogous have negotiated an end to the trouble or 
the instigating members of the Ecclesiarchy have been found guilty of Heresy.

 The non-militant orders tend to have varying roles between the two convents.  
The Orders Hospitaller form the caring branch of the Sisterhood.  They provide 
doctors, nurses, medical aid and help the poor and needy that they come 
across, genuinely kind.

 The Orders Dialogous know all about languages and arbitration.  While the 
Imperium has experts who study long-dead languages, the sisters of the Orders 
Dialogous put this to practical use.  While the Imperium theoretically has a 
universal language, Imperial Gothic, there are many, many dialects across the 
galaxy, some bearing almost no relation to 'standard Gothic' to the untrained 
ear.  The Sisters Dialogous act as translators and are skilled negotiators.

 The fourth major class of Orders are the Orders Famulous.  These sisters are 
dedicated to the organisation of households, especially the rich and powerful 
of the Imperium.  They serve the nobles and Imperial Commanders of the 
Imperium as advisors and chatelaines.  They run the families affairs and 
direct their businesses.  Thus, the Ecclesiarchy keeps a tight control over 
the most powerful individuals in the Imperium, also doing what they can to 
curb the excesses of those they are assigned to.  They arrange marriages and 
agreements between noble families (in this they are aided by the Orders 
Dialogous) to quel fueds and settle matters that threaten the stability of 
the area or Imperium.

 Between them, the four major classes of Order keep a close eye on the pulse 
of Imperial life.  The Orders Famulous keep tabs on the noble houses, the 
Orders Dialogous keep their superiors abreast of actions on the front line of 
fighting and negotiations as they translate orders of Imperial commanders to 
the common soldiers and peace terms between otherwise hostile parties, while 
the Orders Hospitaller are in a good position to see the other side of life, 
the face of day to day Imperial life that is hidden from the lofty heights of 
the nobility, military and diplomatic.  All this makes the Adepta Sororitas a 
useful political as well as social tool, and with the armed might of the 
Orders Militant, the Sisterhood has the protection and power it needs to 
operate successfully.

 Other minor classes of the non-militant orders include the Orders Sabine and
Orders Pronatus.

 The Orders Sabine are little known amongst the peoples of the Imperium 
as they operate at the very edges of human space, sometimes only returning 
to Terra or Ophelia VII once in a Sister Sabines lifetime.  The Sisters 
Sabine accompiany the Missionarius Galaxia on missions to newly discovered 
human worlds, and they specialise in infiltrating those often regressed 
and primitive societies that it it believed would oppose the arrival of 
the Imperium.  Sisters Sabine often set themselves up as prophets of the 
Emperor, preaching the Imperial Cult in secret or formenting revolt against 
the religious leaders of a world.  When the Missionarius Galaxia arrives 
and announces its presence to the worlds peoples the Sisters Sabine will 
have prophesised such an event and will lead those natives sympathetic 
to the Imperial Creed in a sudden and deadly coup against their leaders.  
Through their work the Sisters Sabine are often cut off from the Imperium 
for years at a time and many have the appearance of "going native", adopting 
the clothing, language and manners of the culture they are infiltrating.

 The Orders Pronatus specialise in retrieving, guarding, studying and 
repairing artefacts of value to the Ecclesiarchy.  This includes the 
uncounted thousands of holy relics revered by the people of the Imperium, but 
also relates to items captured by Imperial forces which are too powerful or 
significant to be allowed to fall into enemy hands.  They also have the 
responsibility of maintaining and blessing the many banners and symbols of 
Orders Militant, as well as being called upon to reconsecrate the livery of 
other Imperial bodies (such as the Chapter banner of the Lamenters Chapter of 
the Adeptus Astartes after its involvement in the Badab Uprising, the banner 
now called the Banner of Tears).  Some Orders Pronatus are known to have given 
all in the defence of the artefacts they guard or study, and the fate of the 
Order of Blessed Enquiry is a salutory lesson in the risks involved with the 
evil of the Ruinous Powers, even if the intent is to safeguard Humanity from 
their corrupting influence.

 The command structure within the Orders Militant is approximately as follows:

    Ecclesiarch & Bishops
        |
    Prioress [of the Convent]
        |
    Canonesses [of the Order]
        |
    Sisters Superior
        |
    Sisters [& Seraphim]
 
 The Prioresses of the Convents on Earth and Ophelia VII answer to noone but 
the Ecclesiarch and the Synods.  Each Order of the Sisterhood is run by a 
Canoness, who directs her Sisters Superior.

 Famous matriarchs of the Sisterhood include:

  - Saint Dominica, Patron saint of the Sisterhood, Founder of the Order of 
    the Ebon Chalice, Bearer of the Grail of Ages.

    Renowned throughout the Imperium as the Sster who ended the Reign of Blood 
    by beheading the High Lord Vandire.  In the aftermath she formally founded 
    the Sisterhood according to the instructions of Sebastian Thor and established 
    the Order of the Ebon Chalice as her own Order.  Dominica led many crusades, 
    oversaw the early years of Adeptus Sororitas for several centuries and finally 
    fell in battle at the Scourging of Fridewide's World.  The symbol of Dominica, 
    and her Order, is the skull-filled and flaming Ebon Chalice, a representation 
    of the terrible knowledge imparted to Dominica when she was brought before 
    the Golden Throne.  Few are aware of the significance of this symbol in 
    Sororitas art.

  - Saint Katherine, Founder of the Order of the Fiery Heart, The Shield Bearer.

    Katherine is said to have been the bearer of Dominica's Praesidium 
    Protectiva, and was known for her determination and avenging spirit, always 
    to be found at the forefront of any conflict.  She was regarded as 
    Dominica's second in command and led many successful campaigns.  Her Order 
    was originally named the Order of the Fiery Heart, in reference to her 
    fierce persona, but the name was changed to the Order of Our Martyred Lady 
    after her death at the hands of the Witch-cult of Mnestteus.  Katherine 
    appears in Sororitas art as an avenging angel stood upon a cloud and 
    surrounded by a halo.  She often bears a sword and banner in reference to 
    her symbolic role as bearer of Dominica's arms, as as well as a shield, 
    representing Dominica's Praesidium Protectiva.

  - Saint Silvana, Founder of the Argent Shroud.

    Like the other founding Saints of the Sororitas, Silvana was a member of 
    Dominica's bodyguard when she was taken before the Golden Throne.  She is 
    noted for the many selfless acts of self-sacrifice she performed throughout 
    her life and Sisters who have survived a battle despite terrible odds often 
    invoke her name in thanks for deliverance from the forces of evil.  She is 
    said to have died after being poisoned by a Death-cult Assassin, and legend 
    states that her body mysteriously vanished after having laid in state for 
    a week within the Inner Sanctum of the Convent Prioris.  A silvery image 
    of her bones was left imprinted on her death shroud, which is revered as 
    one of the Sisterhoods most holy relics, and that gives the Order its title.

  - Saint Lucia, founder of the Order of the Valorous Heart.

    The youngest of Dominica's companions, Lucia was martyred after being 
    captured by Recidivists, who gouged out her eyes and forced her to endure 
    the screams of 1000 innocents as they were tortured to death before her.  
    Unknown to Lucia, a group of her own Sisters were amongst those put to 
    death, but it is said that not one of them uttered a sound as they endured 
    their tortures, so as not to cause Lucia any more pain than she had already 
    suffered.  Lucia is represented in Sororitas art by a woman with eyes 
    shrouded and a drop of blood running down one cheek.  She may also carry a 
    sword, held upright to symbolise her martial role within the Orders 
    Militant.  She may also hold a skull in her left hand, which represents 
    the severed head of Lord Vandire, which she is said to have recovered 
    after Dominica put him to death, flensed, polished, carved with the 
    Litanies and placed within the ancient archive of the Vault of Origins.

  - Saint Mina, Founder of the Order of the Bloody Rose.

    Mina was a dark and brooding Sister, quick to anger and deadly in combat.  
    The Order of the Bloody Rose was not formally created until two and a half 
    millenia after the founding of the first four orders, and by this time 
    Mina was long dead.  Her Order had existed as a small group of Sisters 
    who provided a bodyguard for the Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas, and it 
    was from this group that the new Order was formed.  She is said to have 
    been martyred at the hands of a sanguinary cult, the agents of which are 
    said to have ambushed her at prayer in a small shrine on Hydrophur.  
    None of her Sisters were present, but it is said that when they came upon 
    her body the entire shrine was covered in the blood of her assailants, 
    a score of which lay dead around her blood-drained form.  Her symbol is a 
    red rose, with prominent thorns.  Behind the rose are crossed two knife 
    blades dripping in blood, symbolic of the circumstances of her martyrdom.

  - Saint Arabella, Founder of the Order of the Sacred Rose, The Liberator.

    Like the Order of the Bloody Rose, the Order of the Sacred Rose was not 
    formally created until the reign of the Ecclesiarch Deacis VI.  Arabella 
    was known as a particularly serene, even-tempered Sister, renowned for her 
    calm nature in the face of adversity.  She is said to have been instrumental 
    in the negotiations that led to Dominica accepting the plan of the Adeptus 
    Custodes taking the sisters before the Golden Throne and has earned the 
    honorific 'Liberator' because many Sisters pray to her for liberation from 
    doubt and rash action at times when a cool head is required.  It is not 
    known whether Arabella was martyred, died of old age, or if some other 
    fate took her, and any inquiry into the subject with the Sisters of her 
    Order is met with a stony silence.  Her symbol is a white rose, held aloft 
    in a mailed gauntlet.

  - Sister Sabrina, Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas

    In the centuries that followed the Age of Apostasy, Saint Dominica led the 
    Adepta Sororitas as founder and overall patron.  Her martyrdom left a 
    great void in the organisation, which experienced a temporary crisis as no 
    leader felt that they were able to adequately follow in Dominica's 
    footsteps.  Eventually the Ecclesiarch Equitius XI intervened and ordered 
    the leaders of each Orrder to elect one of their number to lead.  After 
    weeks of debate, the leaders agreed that Sister Palmiro of the Order of 
    the Holy Word was most suited to the rank of Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas.
    Sister Palmiro, however, was an exceptionally humble woman and declined to 
    lead,stating her intention to depart on a pilgrimage to San Leor, and that 
    she had no desire for rank and privilege.  After debate it was decided that 
    Palmiro should complete her pilgrimage but that she should take the rank 
    of Abbess upon her return, and regard it as a welcome penance.  Palmiro 
    accepted those terms, and after barely a century the tradition of electing 
    the candidate who least desired the rank of Abbess to the post became 
    commonplace, that she should regard it not as a privilege but as a penance,
    and that she should take up the position only after a pilgrimage to San 
    Leor.

    This tradition was maintained for most of four millenia, until the election 
    of Sister Sabrina of the Order of the Ermine Mantle.  Sabrina disappeared 
    whilst on her pilgrimage, and never returned to Terra.  The last sightings 
    was on the ocean world of Habren IV, though it is not known what fate 
    became her, the Sisters of the Ermine Mantle have embarked upon at least a 
    dozen missions to locate her.  Until she is found or her fate determined, 
    Ecclesiastical law dictates that the post of Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas 
    must remain vacant.


14.4.3  The Frateris Militia
----------------------------

 While the Sisters of Battle are the only official army the Ecclesiarchy is 
allowed under the Decree Passive, there are also the Frateris Militia.  
Frateris Militia have no formal connection to the Ministorum save being 
followers of the Imperial Creed, thus not breaking the Decree Passive.  Some 
of these militias are permanent platoons, others zealots protecting a 
preacher, confessor or missionary from harm, still others mobs aroused by a 
preacher to attack a group of Heretics.  Frateris Militia quickly form when 
a War of Faith is declared.  While their faith is to be applauded, they can 
be hard to control, many innocents being slain when for example they the 
militia storms a rebel citadel or Heretic cult.  If the official armies of 
the War of Faith are defeated or scattered, the militia often loses its 
focus and breaks into roving bands, looting, pillaging and slaughtering 
locals.  Needless to say, the Frateris clergy is extremely wary of raising a 
Frateris Militia, only doing so in times of great need.


14.4.4  The Schola Progenium
----------------------------

 There is an organisation run by the Ecclesiarchy called the Schola Progenium, 
whose job it is to take care of those children who are orphans of Imperial 
servants, bringing them up according to the Imperial Creed.  A number of 
these, the most able, are inducted into various Adeptus organisations, such 
as the Sisterhood, Imperial Guard, Officio Assassinorum, etc.

 Headed by an Abbot, the preachers of the area teach the children the skills 
they will need, as well as overseeing their religious education.  By 
adolescence, most show an aptitude in a certain direction or directions, and 
their education to the age of 16 focuses on the skills leaning towards the 
aptitude, honing the pupil to a career in one of the Imperial organisations.  
Most will end up being scribes, clerks or low level functionaries in the 
Adeptus Terra, others may join the Imperial Guard as soldiers, officers or 
Commissars, may become petty officers in the Imperial Fleet, enter the 
priesthood itself as a preacher or Dean, or be inducted into the ranks of the 
Inquisition.  Whatever a childs talents, there is usually at least one 
Imperial organisation to suit.  If not, theres always the Adeptus Terra...


14.5  The Ordo Hereticus
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 The lessons of the Age of Apostacy did not go unheeded.  The Ecclesiarchy is 
monitored closely, both internally (primarily by the Adeptus Sororitas) and 
externally, by a secret unit of the Inquisition set up specially to monitor 
the Ministorum following the Age of Apostacy.  This branch of the Inquisition 
is called the Ordo Hereticus and closely watchs those in power in the 
Ecclesiarchy, seeing they do not amass personal power beyond their station, 
as well as other measures.  The Ordo Hereticus has full Imperial authority to 
take action to curb anything they judge improper or inappropriate, making sure 
those in power do not abuse their position to threaten the stability of the 
Imperium again.

 The Ordo Hereticus monitors Wars of Faith closely, ensuring the objectives 
laid down by the Ecclesiarch are justified and are not exceeded by those 
fighting.  They oversee the Frateris Militia to curb the worst of their 
over-zealousness and safeguard the spirit of the Decree Passive (if not the 
letter of it), ensuring its prohibitions stay enforced.  They regulate the 
money claimed by individuals in the Ecclesiarchy and halt attempts by 
Cardinals to amass more personal power than the Ordo Hereticus (or the 
individual Inquisitor) deems appropriate.

 The Ordo Hereticus also has another function, however: to defend Humanity
against the myriad dangers posed by the witch, the heretic, and the mutant.  
To this end the Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus are a sinister breed, cut 
from a very different than their brethren in the Ordo Malleus and Ordo Xenos.
Often their work involves the persecution of fellow Inquisitors for 
trafficking with the daemon or alien.  On its foundation, the Ordo Hereticus 
also signed a historic document, the Convocation of Nephilim.  This binds the 
Adeptus Sororitas as the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Hereticus.  The Ordo 
makes extensive use of the Adeptus Sororitas, both as a zealous fighting force 
and in their less militant uses.  Such uses include the Sisters Dialogous as 
translators, the Sisters Famulous as credible informants on many details of 
high ranking noble houses, and the Sisters Hospitaller for medical aid both 
in the field and in administering physical persuasion (torture) to the enemies 
of the Ordo.


14.6  The Imperial Creed
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 The beliefs and teachings of the Ministorum are variously termed the Cult 
Imperialis, Imperial Cult or Imperial Creed.  The Creed embodies the ideals of 
its founder, Fastidicus, with definite elements of Sebastian Thors beliefs 
following his reconstruction of the Church following the Age of Apostacy.

 The main body of the Imperial Creed deals with the veneration of the Emperor, 
but it deals also with the rightful expansion of the Imperium as the Emperors 
domain.  Additionally, it is the duty of every Imperial citizen to protect the 
Imperium from outside forces and fight alien subversion.  The Imperium must 
be kept pure from the inside also, Heresy, unsanctioned cults, 
mutation and unsanctioned psykers must all be controlled if order is to be 
kept in the Imperium.

 The Imperial Creed teaches that all citizens, whether high or low born, have 
a place in the Imperial hierarchy, to which role they must perform to the best 
of their ability.  A respect for authority and their elders and betters, the 
ultimate authority being the Emperor himself, is the basis for this hierarchy.

 Like all belief systems, the Creed is open to interpretation, and people 
disagree on minor points of faith, but generally it works and everyone stays 
more or less pointed in the same direction.  The Calendites, in the western 
reaches of the galaxy, believe that the Emperor has always been a god, while 
the Phanacian cult believes he only truly acheived deification when he struck 
down Horus.  Matters that can cause debates to rage for weeks in the Synods 
can be, and often are, trivial or incomprehensible to the lay member.

 Like the Frateris clergy, different cults of the Imperial Creed have slighty 
differing interpretations of the official Creed, or choose different aspects 
of the Creed as a basis of the cults doctrine.  Here are just three examples 
of sects and denunciations within the Imperium.

 The Hive World of Necromunda is perhaps the centre of the Redemptionist 
school of thought.  Necromunda is seen by much of the Ecclesiarchy as a world 
of lost souls.  The doctrine goes along the lines that mankind has fallen from 
the path of righteousness decreed by the Emperor, and that the sins of Man 
will drown the race in filth and depravity.  As long as Man is unable to 
control his sinful urges, he will not be able to unite and rule the stars as 
the Emperor truly wishes him to.  One of the more militant cults, the 
doctrine says sin must be purged by whatever means, fire, blood, faith or 
death.  Especially by fire....  Sin comes, naturally, in many forms: drinking, 
gambling, lying, cheating, profanity, lechery, fornication (especially 
thinking about fornication) and interfering with the good work of the 
Redemptionists.  Worst of all are mutants and witches, the spawn of evil, 
and second worst are those Heretics who tolerate sin, shield mutants and 
witches, or refuse to heed the word of Redemption...  Noone is innocent or 
exempt from Redemptionist 'teaching'.

 Another cult is that of Imperialism, popular in the frontier regions of the 
Galaxy.  It codifies the pioneering spirit that brings the Light of the 
Emperor to everybody.  Many of the Missionarus Galaxia (a branch of the 
Ministorum whose members travel and teach the word of the Emperor to those 
worlds who have yet to hear of his Salvation) were once Imperialists.  
Especially common on the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy, the Imperialists trade 
goods and spiritual aid in return for travel upon the huge exporation ships 
that travel the galaxy and Warp in search of new worlds.  Most die and never 
see a virgin world, but some find their prayers answered coming across a new 
world.  If the world is populated the Imperialists feel it their duty to 
teach the inhabitants the true word of the Emperor.  If not colonised but fit 
for human life the Imperialists will found a new colony on the world.  This 
has led to clashes with the Eldar, many of whose Maiden Worlds (worlds 
intentionally seeded with life many eons ago and left to come to fruition in 
due time) have been claimed by Imperialists...

 Inspired by an Inquisitorial purge of their world, some inhabitants of the 
world of Desedna took it upon themselves to root out the Heretical and 
unclean from society.  The burgeoning sect now operates around their home 
world in the Segmentum Obscuras.  They took the name of the Brethren of the 
Light, seeing themselves as delving into the dark recesses of the Imperium 
and bringing the Light of the Emperor with them.  Seeing themselves as an 
extension of the Inquisition, they are seen by the administration variously 
as eccentrics, interfering amateurs or troublemakers.  The Brethren have 
been the focus of many a scandal where the privacy of an Imperial noble has 
been broken, innocent citizens persecuted or just generally putting their 
nose in where is not wanted.  On the other hand, on more than one occasion 
they have been responsible for rooting out a secret Chaos cult or Genestealer 
infestation, and many a planetary governor has found himself the subject of 
Inquisitorial attention following some digging done by the Brethren.  The 
Brethren prefer to work secretly, covertly, and the order is cloaked in 
mystery, new recruits carefully vetted for past misdeeds or deviance.  It is 
suspected, but not proven, that the Inquisition has some of its members 
planted in the sect, using it to mask some of their own shadowy activities.

 The only Imperial citizens who follow a different creed to the official one 
taught by the Ecclesiarchy are the members of the Adepta Astartes and 
Mechanicus.  Space Marine cults do not venerate the Emperor simply because he 
is a god, but emphasise the military virtues of honour, comradeship and 
strength as one would expect from these battle brothers.  The rituals and 
traditions vary from Chapter to Chapter, and are maintained by the Chaplains 
of the various Chapters.  All Chapters venerate the Emporer as the greatest 
warrior ever to live (after all, he killed Horus) and their Primarch as the 
founding father of their Chapter.

 The Adeptus Mechanicus follows the Cult of the Machine God: a creed which, 
similarly, does not venerate the Emperor out of simple deification.  Instead, 
to them, *knowledge* is the supreme manifestation of divinity and all 
creatures and artifacts which embody knowledge are holy because of it.  The 
Emperor is the supreme object of worship because he comprehends so much.  
Machines which preserve knowledge from ancient times are also holy, as is 
research which creates new knowledge.  Machine intellignce is respected no 
less than human or other organic intelligence.  To the Adeptus Mechanicus a 
mans worth is only the sum of his knowledge.  His body is simply an organic 
machine preserving intellect.  Life itself is of no instrinsic value to the 
Tech-Priests.  This is most clearly seen in their use of humans as raw 
material from which they create the special cyborg machine-creatures called 
Servitors.  Servitors are supplied to the various governmental and military 
organisations throughout the Imperium including the Administratum, Space 
Marines, and other parts of the Adeptus Terra.  Typical Servitors are 
Technomats who operate and service machines, Holomats who act as holographic 
recordists, Lexomats who are like human computers with tremendous calculating 
powers, and Drones which are living robots - stupid and essentially mindless 
slaves ideal for menial work and little else.

 Some beliefs, however, cross the fine line between healthy, enlightened 
debate and Heresy.  Minor offences such as making the wrong response to a 
Hymnal can be repaid in a number of ways, from attending a shrine to 
joining a Frateris Militia or informing on the sins of others.  The greater 
the act of penitence, the more forgiveness afforded by the Ecclesiarchy.  
Then there are the more heineous acts, those that mark out the Heretic.  
Most of those declared Heretics are not agents of the Chaos gods, are not 
pawns of a Genestealer cult, but simply have views that differ markedly 
from those of the Ecclesiarchy or Inquisition, or perhaps merely threaten the 
established order of the Imperium.  Justified or not, there can be no 
punishment for Heretics other than death.  Only the Emperor can judge the 
Heretic and find him guilty or not guilty, and only in death can the Heretic 
face judgement by the Emperor.  Depending on the severity of the Heresy, the 
death may be a drawn out affair of pain and agony, or it may be quick and 
relatively painless.  Only in death can the Emperor judge the accused, and 
only by such vigiliance and extreme action can the Imperium survive. To think 
otherwise would court anarchy and the destruction of Mankind.

---------------
Sources:
  Sisters of Battle Codex (1997)
  Witch Hunters Codex (2004)
  Codex Imperialis (1993) (pp. 38-40)

