Come get the breakdown on the Orders Militant of the Sisters of Battle, which are their versions of the Space Marines Chapter organization.
Via our good friends at Lexicanum
The Orders Militant are the armed wing of the Adepta Sororitas and are sometimes known as the Sisters of Battle. The Sisters of Battle serve as the standing army of the Ecclesiarchy. The Adepta Sororitas (also known as “the Sisterhood” or “Daughters of the Emperor”) are an all-female subdivision of the religious organisation known as the Ecclesiarchy or Ministorum. The Sisterhood’s Orders Militant serve as the Ecclesiarchy’s fighting arm, mercilessly rooting out corruption and heresy within humanity and every organisation of the Adeptus Terra. The terms “Adepta Sororitas” and “Sisters of Battle” are commonly assumed to mean the same thing, but the latter title technically refers only to the Orders Militant – the military arm of the organisation which is the largest and the best-known part of the Sororitas.
The Battle Sisters of the Adepta Sororitas are the mainstay of the Adeptus Ministorum’s armies. Equipped and trained to the highest Imperial standards, the Sisters of Battle specialize in waging Wars of Faith and purging heresy wherever it may be found. Because of this, its duties often overlap with the Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition and as a result the Sisters of Battle maintain a close alliance with the Witch Hunters.[8] The Sisters of Battle themselves are divided into six Orders, each numbering tens of thousands of Battle Sisters, and many Orders Minoris, each containing thousands of Sisters themselves. These forces are rarely deployed in full-strength, rather being assigned to waging Wars of Faith, aiding the Inquisition, or protecting Ecclesiarchy buildings, property, and relics.
Orders are the standard organizational unit of the Adepta Sororitas. Typically, orders consist of thousands of Sisters. In the beginning, there were only four Orders Militant created by Sister Alicia Dominica and her three fellow Crusading Sisters: Sister Silvana, Sister Lucia, and Sister Katherine.
- Order of Our Martyred Lady (Sister Katherine, Formerly Order of the Fiery Heart)
- Order of the Valorous Heart (Sister Lucia)
- Order of the Ebon Chalice (Sister Alicia Dominica)
- Order of the Argent Shroud (Sister Silvana)
Then mid 38th Millennium, two Orders were added by Ecclesiarch Deacis VI. The Order of the Bloody Rose was created to honor Sister Mina and the Order of the Sacred Rose was created to honor Sister Arabella. Although neither Sister Mina or Sister Arabella led their fellow Sisters into battle, they were martyred just the same and honored as such. Later, Orders were created to deal with non-combatant roles. They were the Orders Hospitaller (dealing with medical aid and purification of the body), Orders Famulous (dealing with law, diplomacy and relations between the Ecclesiarchy and the Imperium), and Orders Dialogous (dealing with research, preaching, and communication). Blind also makes references to Orders Pronatus (dealing with the recovery of holy relics). These are very small Orders, with the only Order Pronatus mentioned being the Order of the Eternal Gate.
Each Order follows the same basic hierarchical structure:
- Order: Led by the head Canoness called the Canoness Superior and runs the Entire Order.
- Preceptory: An organisation of individual convents with up to 1,000 Sisters, equivalent to an Adeptus Astartes Chapter, led by a Canoness Preceptor.
- Commandery: Normally smaller convents or detachments of militant Sisters with up to 200 Sisters, led by a Canoness Commander.
- Mission: The smallest organisation of Sisters, consisting of a few units and can be led by a Canoness or the lesser Palatine.
Since their founding the Major Orders Militant have established a number of subsidiary convents at sites significant to the Ecclesiarchy. Sometimes little more than small Garrisons, these bases have developed identities distinct from their parent Orders over time, eventually becoming separate Orders all together. These smaller Orders are referred to as the Lesser Orders Militant. In theory the leaders of the Lesser Orders are answerable to the leaders of the Major Order that spawned them. Wherever possible the Sisters of Battle use the holy trinity of weapons, that of the bolter, flamer, and melta. There are few exceptions to this rule, the most notable being melee weapons, plasma pistols sometimes used by Sister Superiors, and the missiles of the Exorcist. The rank and file are primarily equipped with a Godwyn-De’az pattern boltgun and bolt pistol. All Sisters, with the exception of the Sisters Repentia, are equipped with a suit of Adepta Sororitas Power Armour. The Sisters of Battle possess limited armored support: the Rhino and Immolator as personnel carriers, and the Exorcist to provide fire support
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