The Ecclesiarchy
The Adeptus Ministorum, more commonly known as the Ecclesiarchy, is the sole official state church of the Imperium. It maintains and spreads the Imperial Cult throughout the Imperium. Although the interpretation of particular Imperial Cult dogmas varies across the many worlds of the Imperium, any extreme deviance from its strictures and theology is considered heresy and dealt with with great severity by the Ecclesiarchy or, in extreme cases, the Ordo Hereticus of the Imperial Inquisition. The Ecclesiarchy is based on Kor, its urban palace covering nearly all of the southernmost continent of Antarcticus Prime.
The Adeptus Ministorum's ruling body is the Holy Synod, which is a council composed of the Ecclesiarchy's Cardinals. The Ministorum divides the Imperium's territory across the galaxy into thousands of dioceses, each generally encompassing an entire Imperial world - the exception being Kor, the heart of the Imperium, which possesses several dioceses because of its sheer population size and political improtance. A diocese is further divided into parishes centered around a shrine. Each diocese is headed by a Cardinal, while each parish is headed by an Imperial priest with the title of Preacher. Ranking between these individuals are Pontifices whose authority extends over several parishes and Missionaries who have no administrative duties within a single diocese but can be deployed to spread the faith of the Imperial Cult to newly rediscovered human-settled worlds.
The Adeptus Ministorum's ruling body is the Holy Synod, which is a council composed of the Ecclesiarchy's Cardinals. The Ministorum divides the Imperium's territory across the galaxy into thousands of dioceses, each generally encompassing an entire Imperial world - the exception being Kor, the heart of the Imperium, which possesses several dioceses because of its sheer population size and political improtance. A diocese is further divided into parishes centered around a shrine. Each diocese is headed by a Cardinal, while each parish is headed by an Imperial priest with the title of Preacher. Ranking between these individuals are Pontifices whose authority extends over several parishes and Missionaries who have no administrative duties within a single diocese but can be deployed to spread the faith of the Imperial Cult to newly rediscovered human-settled worlds.
