Redemptionists

Light your way in the darkness with the pyres of burning heretics.”

– Deaconess Margarita Petra

The Redemption bases its beliefs on the Imperial Creed which holds that mankind is ruled and guided by the god-emperor. While the Imperial Creed has definite militant overtones the Redemption has taken it one step further. The original Redemptionists looked at the lives of toil led by the majority of Imperial subjects contrasted by the unreachable luxury of the nobles and the violent anarchy of the universe and concluded that they were in a living hell. The first Redemptionists were penitents and ascetics who took to practices such as flagellation and fasting with relish. Over time the cult grew drawing in many. Slowly the word spread to the desperate masses of the poor and downtrodden of the Imperium who flocked to the new religion.
 
Perhaps it was that contact between the early Redemption and the anarchy that pervades much of the Imperial underclass that changed the cult into the wrathful monster it is now. For it was not long after this point that leaders of the Redemptionist cult began to preach against the corruption that existed around them. No longer was the cleaning and purification of the body and soul merely a matter for the individual; now the purity of all was the concern of all true Redemptionists. There was one obvious source of sin and corruption, from out of which came the foul liquors that rotted the mind and bred wickedness beneath their feet, the decadence of the rich who had forsaken the Emperor’s holy mission for the comforts of filthy lucre. So the Redemption began its never-ending war for purity; purity at any cost.
 
The beliefs of the Redemption are many and various but the core belief is that the god-emperor of Mankind is manifest proof of mankind’s holy destiny to rule the stars. The sinfulness that is all around them keeps mankind from fulfilling its destiny. So the duty of the faithful is to remove the sin which holds back mankind; to cleanse it of its chains of impurity.
 
Around the core belief of the Redemption, there are numerous other pieces of doctrine that make up the basic tenants of faith for a follower of the Redemption: These include numerous rules about behavior and conduct, prohibitions against the consumption of narcotics and alcohol, the requirement for daily periods of self-flagellation and prayer and the obligation for the righteous to hide their faces during gatherings and while undertaking holy activities.
 
Crucially though the Redemption believes that three sins encompass, and surpass all others. These are the sins of Abomination, Witchery, and Heresy. Abomination is sin and corruption made manifest by the distortion and corruption of the flesh into unnatural forms, generally referred to as a mutation. Witchery is the ability to use, and use unnatural powers. Heresy is refusing the truth of the Redemption or working against its holy purpose.