Holy Synod

The Holy Synod, also known as the Holy Synod of Terra, is the ruling council of the Adeptus Ministorum, also known as the Ecclesiarchy. The Holy Synod is based at the Ecclesiarchal Palace on Terra. It is led by the Ecclesiarch, the High Priest of the Imperial Cult and is comprised of all the Cardinals of the Minisotrum, each of whom governs a diocese of the Imperium of Man which can vary greatly in size and astrogeographic scope. The Holy Synod not only acts as the governing body of the Adeptus Ministorum, but it is also the final authority in all matters of religious doctrine for the faith of the Imperial Cult. The Holy Synod was created by the reforming Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor in the early 36th Millennium following the Reign of Blood to serve as a check upon the power of the Ecclesiarch. This was needed due to the actions of the renegade High Lord of Terra Goge Vandire, who as Master of the Administratum and Ecclesiarch had manipulated the religious faith of the Imperium to achieve political ends in the early 36th Millennium during the period of the Age of Apostasy known as the Reign of Blood. The existence of the Holy Synod and its subsidiary organisation, the Synod Ministra, ensures that never again will a High Lord or an Ecclesiarch have total power over the Ecclesiarchy and the powerful state religion of the Imperium.

The Holy Synod periodically holds Ecclesiastical Conclaves in which Cardinals from all over the Imperium journey to Terra and discuss those issues of the day currently most important to the Ecclesiarchy. As the Holy Synod determines religious policy in the Imperium it is extremely influential in the Imperial government and one or more of the Cardinals sitting on the Holy Synod may represent the Synod on the Senatorum Imperialis alongside the Ecclesiarch at different times in Imperial history, especially when the reigning Ecclesiarch is politically weak.

Alongside the Holy Synod based on Terra, another Ecclesiarchy ruling body known as the Synod Ministra exists on the Cardinal World of Ophelia VII. Although the Holy Synod on Terra remains the supreme rgoverning body of the Ecclesiarchy and the primary authority on the spiritual doctrines of the Imperial Cult, the Synod Ministra acts as a secondary governing body. Located further from Terra, the Synod Ministra relays and disseminates the dictates of the Holy Synod, enforcing the religious laws of the Ecclesiarchy and the Imperium. Secondly, the Synod Ministra provides a defence against the political manipulation of the Ecclesiarchy by other Imperial organizations such as the Administratum or even a single individual within the ranks of the Adeptus Ministorum itself.