Since the dark days of the Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor's great reformation of the Imperial priesthood following the dark days of the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium, the Adeptus Ministorum has been prevented by the dictates of the Decree Passive from maintaining forces that consist of "men at arms." Although this statute put an end to the vast standing armies of the ancient Ecclesiarchy's Frateris Templar, the archaic wording of the decree has been subject to many abuses over the centuries, and only a fool would assume that the Ecclesiarchy lacks military power. In times of great need (such as wars of faith or during Imperial Crusades) the Ecclesiarchy arms its male servants, both from the clergy and the mass of lay followers. A great mass of clerks, Deacons, Pardoners and other mino