Ordo Hereticus

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Ordo Hereticus
Inquisiton.png
Inquisition symbol
Parent Agency: Inquisition
Leader: None (represented by Inquisitorial Representative)
Armed Forces: Various Retinues[1a]
Inquisitorial Stormtroopers[1b]
Sisters of Battle[1a]
Established: M36[1b]

The Ordo Hereticus (known colloquially as Witch Hunters) is one of the three major orders of the Inquisition.

Overview

The Ordo's specific role is protecting mankind from treacheries within, by combating such internal threats as treason, mutation, heresy, and witches. They are aided militarily by the Adeptus Ministorum's Sisters of Battle. Because of its vast jurisdiction and mission, the Ordo Hereticus is the largest of all the Inquisition's Ordos.[2b] Many members of the Ordo Hereticus favour the cleansing purity of fire, utilising flamer weaponry to literally burn witches.[17]

History

An Ordo Hereticus inquisitor[2a]

The Ordo Hereticus was founded much later than the Ordo Xenos and Ordo Malleus, created after the Age of Apostasy which occurred during the second century of the 36th millennium. The Apostasy and the many heresies that took root during the anarchy (most notably the Plague of Unbelief), had severely destabilized the Imperium in a way not seen since the Horus Heresy.[1]

The Ordo Hereticus was formed as a check on the Ecclesiarchy, ensuring that another man like Vandire could not gain the level of power and control he did. Although the Ecclesiarchy has its own internal regulatory bodies, it is still the role of the Inquisition to monitor all organisations of the Imperium, including the Ecclesiarchy.[12]

Since the formation of the Great Rift and the beginning of the Indomitus Crusade, the Ordo Hereticus alongside the Sisters of Battle have been dispatched across both Imperium Sanctus and Imperium Nihilus to determine the fate of the many beleaguered worlds.[13]

Role

Although originally concerned with monitoring the Ecclesiarchy, the Ordo Hereticus has expanded its jurisdiction to encompass the other internal threats to the Imperium: witches, mutants, heretics, psykers, traitors and other deviants among mankind. Hereticus Inquisitors are the most feared members of the Inquisition, as their focus is on Mankind itself. The arrival of an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor on a world is met with fear and awe, as no one but the Inquisitor himself knows where his attentions will fall.[1]

The members of the Ordo Hereticus monitor the Wars of Faith inspired by the Ecclesiarchy, to ensure they remain within the objectives assigned by the Ecclesiarch. This includes overviews of Frateris Militia to make sure they are within the bounds of the Decree Passive.[13] They ensure that the teachings preached by priests of the Imperial Cult remain true to the spirit of the Emperor's will. They regulate the wealth and territory claimed by members of the Ecclesiarchy, to prevent higher members of the institution from gaining more power than is appropriate. The Ordo Hereticus is also called upon to monitor other Imperial organisations for internal threats, including the Adeptus Arbites, the Space Marines, and even the Inquisition itself. Only the Emperor is beyond their jurisdiction.[1]

This Ordo raises its own fleet and also provides the ship crews for the Grey Knights. Those selected candidates each possess a complex psycho-trigger that was built into their minds by way of sleep-indoctrination. This allows a Grey Knight to wipe the higher brain functions on order, thus preventing them from taking over a vessel if they turn against the Imperium.[3]

Adepta Sororitas

Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor and Sisters of Battle.
Main article: Adepta Sororitas

The Adepta Sororitas, also known as the Sisterhood or the Daughters of the Emperor, are a penitent organisation devoted to the worship of the Emperor. Although there are many different Orders within the Sisterhood, the most well known are the Orders Militant, forming the military arm of the Ecclesiarchy.[1]

After the Age of Apostasy, the Ecclesiarchy was forbidden from possessing any "men under arms" by the Decree Passive issued by Sebastian Thor. A loophole was found and exploited by refounding the Daughters of the Emperor as warrior-nuns after merging them into the greater Sisterhood. The Sisterhood is an internal regulator, along with being an external army, ordered to ensure that true faith is spread throughout the Imperium and the galaxy.[1c]

Although completely unalike in their methods (where Inquisitors are analytical and suspicious, the Sisters of Battle are zealous and unquestioning of dogma) the Sisters and the Hereticus also have the common purpose of eradicating threats from within. Recognising this, the two organisations joined together in their efforts, a relationship formalised by the Convocation of Nephilim. Although the Sororitas and its Sisters of Battle remain part of the Ecclesiarchy, they respond when called upon by Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus.[1c]

Notable Members

Main article: List of Inquisitors

Sources

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Uncited

  • White Dwarf 293 (UK), pgs. 48-51 – Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus: Painting and Converting Witchhunters


Modern Imperial Organizations
Adeptus Terra Adeptus Administratum (Adeptus Astartes • Departmento Munitorum • Astra Militarum • Ordo Tempestus • Imperial Fleet • Imperial Navy • Merchant Fleet • Praeses Mercatura • Navis Nobilite • Officio Assassinorum • Estate Imperium • Templars Psykologis • Officio Sabatorum • Officio Medicae • Officio Agricultae • Officio Logisticarum • Departmento Exacta • Astra Cartographica • Logis Strategos • Departmento Colonia • Departmento Processium • Departmento of Final Consideration • Departmento Contagio • Departmento Gradio • Questio Logisticus • Rogue Traders • Imperial Commanders) • Adeptus Astra Telepathica (Sisters of Silence • League of Black Ships • Scholastica Psykana) • Adeptus Astronomica • Adeptus Arbites • Adeptus Custodes • Questor Imperialis (House Guard) • Adeptus Fidicius • Synopticon • Officio Communicatus • Officio Propagandum
Adeptus Mechanicus Cult Mechanicus • Collegia Titanica • Legiones Skitarii • Questor Mechanicus (House Guard) • Centurio Ordinatus • Ordo Reductor • Legio Cybernetica • Auxilia Myrmidon • Prefecture Magisterium • Basilikon Astra • Divisio Linguistica • Explorator • Sect Missionarius Mechanicus • Collegiate Extremis • Astynomia • Adnector Concillium • Auxilia Technologica Astartes
Adeptus Ministorum Holy Synod • Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle) • Schola Progenium • Missionarius Galaxia • Creed Temporal • Frateris Militia
Inquisition Ordo Malleus • Ordo Hereticus • Ordo Xenos • Ordos Minoris
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