40K Lore: Orders of the Sisters of Battle

Today Loremasters, we delve into the structure and Holy Orders of the Adepta Sororitas.

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.

Structure and Heirarchy

The Adepta Sororitas is part of the Ecclesiarchy and is divided between two Convents – the Convent Prioris located on Terra and the Convent Sanctorum based on Ophelia VII, although in practice their forces are spread throughout the Galaxy.

The overall commander and spiritual leader of the entire Sisterhood is the Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas, although the position is currently unoccupied. As the leader of the Adepta Sororitas, the Abbess is sometimes elected into the High Lords of Terra.

Below the Abbess are the Prioresses of the two Convents who are in charge of their Convent and the various Orders based there.

The Convents of the Sisterhood are organized into several Orders. The Orders each have different roles and responsibilities. There are four distinct classes of major Order, plus an unknown number of minor orders. The types of major Order are:

• Orders Militant – The “Sisters of Battle”, the military arm of the Sororitas
• Orders Hospitaller – Surgeons, physicians and Nurses
• Orders Dialogous – Scholars dealing with languages and translation
• Orders Famulous – Diplomats, chamberlains and advisors for Imperial noble families

It is not uncommon for a Sister to transfer from one of the Orders to another, particularly if a Battle Sister has become injured or is too old for combat they may transfer to one of the non-militant Orders.

Each of the major Orders follows the same basic hierarchical structure:

• Order – Led by the head Canoness, called the Canoness Superior, who runs the entire Order.
• Preceptory – A subsidiary convent or a large tactical detachment with up to 1,000 Sisters 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.

It should be noted that the non-militant Orders operate mainly at Mission and Commandery levels – Preceptory is a largely organisational tier. For example, a Commandery of the Order Hospitallier could be a staff of sisters working in a field hospital whilst a Mission of the Orders Famulous could be a handful of Sisters engaged in a trade delegation.

Orders Militant

Commonly known as the Sisters of Battle, the Orders Militant are the most numerous and well known of the Adepta Soritas. They are the only official fighting force of the Ecclesiarchy and often prosecute Wars of Faith. They also form the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Hereticus and often fight alongside the Inquisitors of that Ordo.

Lesser Orders Militant

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.

Named Lesser Orders Militant include

• Order of the Crimson Oath
• Order of the Ermine Mantle
• Order of the Fiery Tear
• Order of the Golden Light
• Order of the White Rose
• Order of the Bleeding Heart
• Order of the Wounded Heart
• Order of the Blue Robe
• Order of the Vermilion Hand
• Order of the Glowing Chalice
• Order of the Crimson Shroud

Orders Hospitaller

The Sisters Hospitaller are surgeons, physicians and nurses. They aid the poor, and heal the sick and the wounded in many hospitals and clinics of the Sisterhood and serve in all departments of the Imperiums armed services except the Adeptus Astartes.

Orders Dialogous

The Sisters Dialogous help to translate the innumerable dialects and slangs used throughout the Imperium. At the behest of the Inquisition and certain parties they also study Xenos languages, also translating texts obtained from Xeno artefacts. Sisters Dialogous are often employed as Sages in Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors‘ retinues.

Orders Famulous

The Sisters Famulous organise and maintain households of certain Imperial governors and Imperial nobles, serving as advisors and by their very presence reminding them of their higher loyalties. They oppose any disloyalty with the support of faithful followers from the inside of the household itself.

Minor Orders

There are also an unclear number of Minor Orders.

• Orders Sabine – The Sisters of the Orders Sabine accompany the Missionarius Galaxia on missions to rediscover new worlds. The Sisters specialise in infiltrating primitive societies and introduce elements of the Imperial Creed to the natives.
• Orders Pronatus – Specialise in the retrieving, guarding, studying and repairing of artefacts of value to the Ecclesiarchy.
  • The Order of the Eternal Gate – one of the Orders Pronatus whose responsibility is the retrieval of relics and artefacts for the Ecclesiarchy.
  • The Order of the Blessed Enquiry – one of the Orders Pronatus, believed to have been destroyed due to their collection of artefacts of the Chaos Gods
  • The Order of the August Vigil – one of the Orders Minoris, specializing in the guardianship and defense of holy relics across the Imperium.

Learn More of the Sisters of Battle

Lexicanum

Author: Larry Vela

Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high. I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day. I've been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I'm been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.