Chaplain - The Chaplain Edict: The position of Chaplain was created during the Great Crusade in the early 31st Millennium by the edicts of the Council of Nikaea -- an Imperial conclave that was called on the world of Nikaea to determine whether the use of psychic powers represented a boon or a grave danger to Mankind and the newborn Imperium of Man. After the Emperor rendered His Decree Absolute in regards to the use of psykers, the Space Marine Legions were instructed to abolish their Librarius divisions.The Emperor had decreed that henceforth no Legion was to employ psykers in battle, nor were they to continue their studies into the mysteries of psychic talents. Those Legions who had Librarians -- psychically empowered Space Marines -- were instructed to reassign them to standard fighting units and to forbid the use of their abilities.The Regent of Terra, Malcador the Sigillite, leader of the Council of Terra, was not satisfied that all of the Legions would follow the Emperor's edict. He knew that many of the primarchs placed great value on their Librarians and the powers they could unleash on the battlefield. For some of the Legions, the deployment of psykers had become central to their strategies and tactics.He resolved to find a way to ensure these Legions obeyed the Emperor and observed the psyker ban. His thoughts turned to Lorgar and the Word Bearers Legion. Whilst the Emperor worked His secret labours in the Imperial Palace vaults, Malcador the Sigillite issued a new edict through the Council of Terra in the name of the Emperor. This was the Order of Observance, more commonly known as the Chaplain Edict, and its inspiration was the Word Bearers Legion.The Word Bearers primarch, Lorgar, had been raised on the highly religious world of Colchis. In time, Lorgar had become Colchis' martial and spiritual leader. His first meeting with the Emperor was believed to be a fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, an event that reinforced the religious fervour of the people of Colchis, and Lorgar himself. On becoming a primarch, Lorgar had introduced officer-clerics to his Legion. These warrior-priests were named "Chaplains," and their role was to minister to the spiritual needs of the Space Marines and ensure that their faith in the Emperor was strong.Word Bearers Chaplains had extolled the virtues and divinity of the Emperor of Mankind to every world the XVII Legion brought into Imperial Compliance, though this was a violation of the secular Imperial Truth that ultimately resulted in the castigation of the XVII Legion at the world of Khur, setting them on the path to betrayal in their humiliation.Inspired by this, Malcador ordered the other Space Marine primarchs under the seal of the Emperor to appoint Chaplains who would ensure the spiritual well-being of their Legion and enforce the psyker ban. These officers were to be picked from those Space Marines who were the most steadfast in their duties, and who had demonstrated the strongest loyalty to their primarch and to the Emperor. Most of the primarchs loyally followed the edict and began to appoint officers to the rank and duties of Chaplain. Some did not.Lorgar was quietly amused by the irony of the new edict -- his Legion had already secretly fallen to the Ruinous Powers. Given the vagaries of communication across the vastness of the galaxy, it would not have seemed unusual or suspicious to Malcador that not all of the primarchs had voiced their consent to the edict immediately. It was also certain that some of the primarchs behaved duplicitously, and while they assured him they were doing as the Emperor had ordered, they were not. In time, with the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, their dishonesty became clear.The esteemed position of Space Marine Chaplain would later change to become one of spiritual and moral leadership in the centuries after the Horus Heresy as the Imperium's culture became increasingly centered on the worship of the Emperor as a god.