Adeptus Ministorum (Part – 2)

With the High Lords' acceptance of the Confederation of Enlightenment, it became the uniting ideology of the Imperium. It also became an official organization of the Imperium as the Adeptus Ministorum. The outrage that spawned from the Temple faction of the Imperium was immense but not unexpected. However, again, the sheer practicality of the former Confederation's methods quickly became apparent. As less time was needed to establish Sanctuaries of Reflection and backed fully by the Adeptus Terra and Adeptus Mechanicus, the Ministorum spread quickly throughout the rest of the Imperium. Despite fierce resistance of the Temple, it faced a new kind of enemy that it wasn't equipped to deal with: one with reason and a deep understanding of the human psyche that could not be cowed by physical force. The former Confederation's teaching had long forced them to look at themselves to minimize weakness and/or, ideally, eradicate it. As such, its' various agents and operatives knew the nature of humanity. Where the Temple called for blind faith, the Ministorum countered with knowledge and understanding. Where the Temple said the Emperor was a God, the Ministorum recited the Emperor's own belief that he was not a God.

The newly created Ministorum's teachings and methods infiltrated the Temple. Citizens who had long been oppressed by tithes and forced to adhere to a narrow doctrine, where now offered the ability to learn to take their destiny with their own hands and minds, just as the Emperor had always planned since the Great Crusade. Soon, disgruntled parties who had been persecuted by the Temple came forward and were quickly followed by new populations of worlds that had been brought into the Imperium. The backing of the Imperium's governing body made the rising Ministorum untouchable. Any attempted violence that came from the Temple was put down and only served to strength the Ministorum's position: the Temple was made up of religious zealots. Slowly but steadily, the Temple's followers were converted or imprisoned. It would be nearly two hundred and fifty years before the Temple fell into full decline. As more and more people gathered towards the Ministorum, remnants of the Temple went into hiding. Only a few cells and hidden shrines of the Savior Emperor managed to survive the mass conversions and the power of the Ecclesiarchy was made complete.

At the end of the 33rd millennium every Imperial world was furnished with its own sanctuary and the coffers of the Ecclesiarchy were filled with the offerings and tithes of billions of faithful. This wealth was wisely spent in maintaining the various Sanctuaries of Reflection or diverted to other organizations when needed.

Over the course of the millennia, the Ministorum's influence upon the Imperium's population was considerable. While other organizations and departments, such as the Adeptus Administratum, feared the possibility of the Ministorum becoming too powerful, the Ecclesiarchy's own doctrine kept this fear from manifesting into reality.

Even after Emperor's order Lorgar was deeply unsatisfied, to him this was a mockery of true faith, as Belief in The Emperor as divine is the guiding light of the Word Bearers. So Confederation proposed a compromise that Emperor will be considered greater than any past deity that humankind may have worshipped. Also Word Bearers act as a judge for them so that Confederation remains faithful and untainted.

Only remaining Savior Emperor sect is the Redemptionists, a fanatical priesthood who follows an extreme and unforgiving doctrine of faith in which redemption in the eyes of the God-Emperor can only be found in death. For Redemptionists, sin exists in every creature, which can be purged only through bloodshed. Their mob mentality and ability to rouse a populace into a frenzied witch hunt, blinded by its all-consuming need for the guilty and blasphemous to be cleansed, can cause serious problems to any planetary government, upsetting the precarious balance of power which allows a world to continue to exist in a galaxy that contains a thousand and one threat. The task at hand is never truly done in the eyes of a Redemptionist, for all of the xenos of an area have been purged then all those who aided them must also be purged, followed by all those who might fail in the future and so on, until everyone is prosecuted for the failure to prevent such heretical acts. Planetary governments must often act quickly before the frenzied need to put the blasphemous to the pyre spreads. Zealots are so filled with bile and anger against those who would transgress the God-Emperor's will that they are in an almost permanent state of rage. They test their faith by plunging headlong into combat with the greatest sinners they can find. They even lash at themselves with whips and flails to savor the pain of purgation, but they would rather carve the path of redemption into their enemies' hearts. The Arch Zealot of the Redemption is one of the most famous and feared of all Redemptor priests on the Hive World of Necromunda. His views are considered to be rather extreme even by his fellow priests, and some say that he should be banished from the Redemptionist cause altogether. The Arch Zealot denounces all who voice such opinions as weak-willed Traitors to the Emperor, and such is his following amongst the common mass of Redemptionists that those who argue against him either quickly recant or are lynched by an angry mob whipped into a frenzy of blood lust by one of the Arch Zealot's rabble-rousing speeches.

Tenets

The Imperial Creed is highly flexible and is tailored to fit the native culture, religion, and practices of whatever world it exists upon. As such, practices adhered to on one world may be held as abhorrent or strange in another. The Ministorum tolerates this vast range of practices and beliefs, as it would be impossible to maintain a complete standardization across the entire Imperium.

However, the Ecclesiarchy does enforce basic key tenets:

The Emperor is the one true representation and Savior of humanity. As such he surpasses any past deity that humankind may have worshipped.

It is the duty of the faithful to purge the Heretic, beware the psyker and mutant, and abhor the alien.

Excess of any negative emotion or trait is a weakness. To be out of control of oneself is to invite disaster.

Every human being and Eldar have a place within the Imperium.

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.

One's action should lead to the betterment of the Imperium and her people, not oneself.