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I tread the path of Righteousness. Though it be paved with broken glass, I will walk it barefoot; though it cross rivers of fire, I will pass over them; though it wanders wide, the light of the Emperor guides my step.
Confessor Dolan of Chiros, Sermon on the Road to Gathalmor
The Imperial Creed
Once, long ago, Humanity had achieved its greatest heights of glory, power, and achievement but at the cost of the soul. This time was known as the Dark Age of Technology which gave way to the Age of Strife. As the Age of Strife pressed on the Emperor moved to save Humanity from itself and from the foul xenos hordes that hemmed in on Mankind from all sides. He united Holy Terra, created the Primarchs and Space Marines as means of defeating the enemies of Man and creating His Imperium by launching the Great Crusade. In two hundred years the Human race was united under His benevolent rule destroying the false gods as His armies advanced.
Horus Heresy
All this was nearly brought down by the betrayal by His once most beloved son and primarch the Warmaster Horus, his Regent and strong right hand who was entrusted to finish His Great Crusade while the Emperor worked on Terra to bring down the foul gods of Chaos. Horus fell to Chaos, leading half of the Emperor's Legions into rebellion against the Emperor and nearly cast all Humanity into howling darkness and damnation. In the last moments the Emperor defeated His son in single combat, defeating the Heresy and saving Mankind with one stroke, sacrificing His body to save us all.
Enthronement
Upon His Ascension unto the Golden Throne the Emperor truly became the God He was destined to be. On the Golden Throne He guides and watches over Humanity, protecting His people from the depredations of the Warp and the foul Chaos gods. He guides the Astronomicon, which allows ships to find their way in interstellar travel, and shows the Way through His Holy Tarot. He is our Saviour and Protector.
Tenets
- Venerate the Immortal Emperor: He gave His life to protect us from the Great Enemy and protects us to this day.
- Seek His Guidance and Forgiveness: All Heretics and uninformed are encouraged to seek out the Word of the Emperor through His servants who can offer His wisdom and guidance to any who seek it.
- Repent for Sins Committed:Any who refuse to work with the servants of the Emperor may receive forgiveness for their sins as well as failing to uphold His works.
- Strike Down His Foes:The Emperor frowns upon those who have turned their backs on Man and towards Chaos or Xenos races. The Emperor demands that those who will not repent for their Heresy to be struck down so they may receive His Righteous Judement.
Saints and Martyrs
In the Imperium there are people who through extraordinary devotion, piety, and service rise above and beyond the common believer. These form the calendar of saints and martyrs of the Imperium who are revered and often used for intercession with the Emperor.
Primarchs
Foremost among those honored in this fashion are the Primarchs, the leaders and fathers of the legions who remained loyal to the Emperor during the bloody Horus Heresy.
- Lion El'Jonson: Primarch of the Dark Angels Legion, known for his secrecy and pride
- Jaghatai Khan: Primarch of the White Scars Legion, known for his cunning and initiative
- Leman Russ: Primarch of the Space Wolves Legion, known for his feral ferocity and good humor
- Rogal Dorn: Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion, known for his steadfast determination and honesty
- Sanguinius: Primarch of the Blood Angels Legion, known for his self-sacrifice and his love of beauty
- Ferrus Manus: Primarch of the Iron Hands Legion, known for his rage and his death at Istvaan V
- Roboute Guilliman: Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion, known for his military prowess and tactical brilliance
- Vulkan: Primarch of the Salamanders Legion, known for his skill in the forge and his calm demeanor
- Corax: Primarch of the Raven Guard Legion, known for his silence and his cleverness
Saints
Saints are those who led holy lives and died after leading such a life in the service of the God-Emperor. To be confirmed as a saint requires a decree of the highest ranking official of the Ecclesiarchy, at present time that being the Cardinal, after miracles in the saint's name are witnessed. Relics of saints are highly prized for what they symbolize as well as their protective power.
- Deacon Possenti: Founder of the Redemption in Hive Malton, key spiritual figure in the earlier Imperium (old) in Malton. Saint of Faith and Revelation, is said to guide the Imperium to this day. His most prominent relic is his book of sermons and records.
- Lisa Harper: Faithful member of the Redemption, martyred in battle and ascended to sainthood as the Saint of Devotion and Revenge. Her most prominent relic is her dagger.
Martyrs
Martyrs are those who died in the service of the Imperium in battle against their enemies. In Hive Malton there is no shortage of martyrs sadly, often it is not unusual for a martyr to be elevated to sainthood.
- Shamos: Martyred in battle, conducted an extended search for penance and revival before his final demise and is known for his persistence.
- Ron Burgundy: Though never a servant of the Imperium in life, Ron's legend and stature was highly regarded by all in Hive Malton and in the Imperium is held up as a martyr known for his fiery spirit and passion for battle.
Prayers and Holy Days
Holy Days
Feast of the Emperor's Ascension
This is the day when the Ascension of the Emperor to the Golden Throne and His apotheosis is celebrated. This holy day is celebrated with much feasting in the Emperor's honor along with prayer for forgiveness of sins and trespasses against Him.
Martyrs' Day
On this day the Imperium remembers all those who have fallen in the Emperor's Service and to vow that their deaths shall not have been in vain. This takes place on May 31st of each year.
Prayers
Fede Imperialis
The Fede Imperialis was a common prayer prior to the Decree Passive for members of the Ecclesiarchy under arms and slowly this prayer spread throughout the rest of the Imperium's fighting forces. It is most popular among the Sisters of Battle.
A spiritu dominatus,
Domine, libra nos,
From the lightning and the tempest,
Our Emperor, deliver us.
From plague, deceit, temptation and war, Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the scourge of the Kraken,
Our Emperor, deliver us.
From the blasphemy of the Fallen,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the begetting of daemons,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the curse of the mutant,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
A morte perpetua,
Domine, libra nos.
That thou wouldst bring them only death,
That thou shouldst spare none,
That thou shouldst pardon none,
We beseech thee, destroy them.
The Emperor's Prayer
Similar in purpose to the Old Earth Pater Nostra, this prayer is a common invocation of the Emperor's protection, it is said a true heretic cannot speak the Emperor's Prayer in its proper form.
Adore the Immortal Emperor
For He is our Protector
Admire the Immortal Emperor
For His Sacrifice to Mankind
Exalt the Immortal Emperor
For His Strict Guidance
Revere the Immortal Emperor
For His Undying Guard
Venerate the Immortal Emperor
For His Holy Wisdom
Honour the Immortal Emperor
For Is Eternal Strength
Glorify the Immortal Emperor
For His All-seeing Vision
Praise the Immortal Emperor
For His Unending Rule
Hail the Immortal Emperor
For He is the Lord and Master
Worship the Immortal Emperor
For without Him we are Nothing
Libation to the Emperor
Often spoken when giving up thanks or homage to the Emperor during worship.
The Emperor is our guiding light, a beacon of hope for humanity in a galaxy of darkness.
As we serve Him, He is our greatest servant.
As we pray to Him, His thoughts are only for us.
And in the dark when the shadow's threaten, the Emperor is with us, in spirit and in fact.
Prayer of Adulation to the Emperor
O immortal Emperor have mercy on us, miserable unworthies that we are.
O master of the galaxy, protect your flock from the alien.
O keeper of the light, guide our darkened path with your radiance.
We are your warriors and we are servants to thee, we stand free from blindness of heart, free from hypocrisy, vainglory and deceits, but captive to hatred, malice and anger, to the filth, the alien, the heretic.
By thy agony and bloody sweat; by thy Golden Throne and thy death; by thy destruction and re-emergence as the God of men, keep and strenghen us, we who fight for thee.
Imperial Lobgesang
Love the Emperor, for He is the salvation of Mankind.
Obey His words, for He will lead you into the light of the future.
Heed His wisdom, for He will protect you from evil.
Whisper His prayers with devotion, for they will save your soul.
Honour His servants, for they speak in His voice.
Tremble before His majesty, for we all walk in His immortal shadow.
Holy Places
The Imperium has many holy places in Malton as well as means of worship. The following are the most prominent examples.
It is this place where the Imperium gives worship to the Emperor and has stood as the spiritual heart of the Imperial Creed in Hive Malton. Those who desecrate the holy images of this Cathedral are doomed to punishment and damnation.
This is the place where those seeking to find information and worship in the Emperor's Name may go to find fellow parishioners, seek forgiveness for their sins, and venerate the Emperor as is proper and fitting.
Sects
Considering the vast size and nature of the Imperium it is no surprise there are many sects within the Ecclesiarchy. The most common tie of these sects is their recognition of the Emperor's Divinity, due to such diversity it is often rare for a sect to be declared heretical.
| Sect
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Known Geographic Reach
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Beliefs
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| Armormants
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Unknown
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Believe the edifices of the Cult Imperialis should be heavily ornamented works of art, in praise of the Emperor. Stricter in treatment of mutants than Lucid[s]. Founded by Gracius of Armorm.
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| Ayatani
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Hagia, in the Sabbat Worlds
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Absolute pacifism.
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| Brethren of the Light
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Desedna and surrounding space (Segmentum Obscurus)
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See themselves as an adjunct to the Inquisition, and carry out much covert espionage of suspected heretics.
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| Calendites
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Western Segmentum Solar
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Believe the Emperor was always a living god (as opposed to Phanacians).
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| Imperialism
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Mostly frontier space, particularly the Eastern Fringe
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Pioneering faith devoted to spreading the Emperor’s Light to the whole galaxy and all mankind. Missionary work is highly praised (though they often disagree with the Missionarius Galaxia on how to do it), as is colonization of new worlds and prolific procreation. Especially strong xenophobia.
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| Lucid[s]
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Karis Cephalon and surrounding system
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Value poverty and abstinence, favour spartan houses of worship.
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| Phanacian[s]
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Segmentum Pacificus
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Believe the Emperor was fully deified only upon the defeat of Horus.
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| Polarists
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Emerging sect in the Segmentum Pacificus, some following on Hydraphur
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Believe in the absolute separation of humans and psykers; the two can be combined only in the Emperor. Even sanctioned psykers should for preference be turned into servitors or otherwise lobotomized.
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| Redemptionists
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“Most flourishing” on Necromunda, other spread unknown
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Militant sect, devoted to purging the sins of any and all deviants. Consider most non-members to be deviants.
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| Resurrectionism
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Unknown
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Believe in the eventual resurrection of the Emperor and may also work towards it in some way (Thorians within the Inquisition are Resurrectionists, and Omnissiads within the Cult Mechanicus strongly echo them).
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History
Origins
The Ecclesiarchy's beginnings can be traced back to the earliest Emperor-worshipping sects and cults founded during the Great Crusade, when groups such as the Lectitio Divinitatus began worshipping the Emperor, despite his express decrees to the contrary. However, these groups were a burgeoning influence upon the Imperium, achieving emancipation following the Emperor's ascension to the Golden Throne. As the reality of Chaos dawned upon the Imperium, so did the stories of the Emperor's divinity and righteous power in the face of Chaos. Over the next two millennia various sects contested with each other for the belief of the populace, until the Temple of the Saviour Emperor finally united two-thirds of the populace (excluding the Adeptus Mechanicus and Space Marines, who had and continue to have their own structures) and become recognised by the High Lords of Terra as the Imperium's state religion.
Reign of Blood
The Ecclesiarchy's temporal might grew vastly in the wake of this, eventually growing so great that not only did the Ministorum's leader, the Ecclesiarch, gain a permanent seat in the Senatorum Imperialis, but the other High Lords also took their lead from him to the point that the Ecclesiarch was the Imperium's de facto ruler. This development was not unopposed, however. The Administratum soon entered a power struggle with the Ecclesiarchy which climaxed with the reign of the 361st High Lord of the Administratum, Goge Vandire, who took control of the Ecclesiarchy by a military coup. Vandire would be one of the most blood-soaked tyrants in Imperial history, and was finally overthrown by a breakaway sect known as the Confederation of Light, led by Sebastian Thor, aided by the actions of the future Sisters of Battle.
Reformation
After Vandire's death, the High Lords of Terra declared Thor the new Ecclesiarch, and sparked the Reformation of the Ecclesiarchy. Terra's Holy Synod, the Ecclesiarchy's main governing body, was to be supplemented by the new Synod Ministra on Ophelia IV, to ensure that no one man could amass the power over the Ecclesiarchy that Vandire had. The dioceses of each Cardinal were also made smaller, to further dilute the power of each individual Cardinal. Members of the Ecclesiarchy were forbidden by these reforms from holding any position outside the Church of the Emperor.
The Decree Passive was also passed at this time, forbidding the Ecclesiarchy from holding 'men under arms'. Thor did, however, retain Vandire's favoured female warrior corps, the Daughters of the Emperor, restyling them as the Orders Militant of the Adeptus Sororitas.
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