Frateris Militia



The Frateris Militia are the masses of the faithful of the Imperiul Cult gathered to fight wars of faith against enemies of the God-Emperor and mankind. They constitute the unofficial and generally ill-trained troops who fight, indirectly, in the interests of the Ecclesiarchy. Although most such mobs consist of no more than faithful Imperial citizens drawn from a broad walk of life, some "brothers" have had military experience in the Imperial Guard or a planetary defense force (PDF). They make up for this general lack of military training with selfless fanaticism.

In battle the Frateris Militia are barely organised, except in huge mobs consisting of any number of militia brethren. Mobs vary from ordinary Imperial citizens incensed against heretics or xenos by Confessors to pursue zealous self-sacrifice, to the already fanatical members of extreme Imperial religious sects. Such is the brethren's devotion and willingness for self-sacrifice, the more dangerous and desperate the fighting, the more likely they will fight to the death.

The Crusade of the Red Redemption (or as they are more commonly called, the Redemptionists) is one of the most notorious of these extreme religious sects. Their creed is one of violence, paranoia and xenophobia, as they see all humans as inherent sinners against the Emperor, unless proven otherwise. As a militant sect, they frequently gather to fight wars of faith.

Frateris Militia bands were available to Sisters of Battle armies in the second edition of Warhammer 40,000. In the fourth edition they were reincarnated as the units designated "Zealots" for the Witch Hunter armies of the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus.