Morgetheon
Cardinal-Supreme of the Morqub and Heliopolis diocese;
Ecclesiarch of the Unified Church of the God-Emperor and his True Son;
Antiecclesiarch and heretic
 |
| [//Morgetheon and his principal coterie+] [//jamie_c/@mutantsnakeeyes+] |
'I journeyed to Sanctram with the authority and commission of the Ecclesiarchy. At midday, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than a sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me ‘Morgetheon, why are you persecuting me? I am the last true son of the God-Emperor of Man. Rise, for I have appeared to appoint you as a servant and witness…'
[//The Address to Morqub, Ecclesiarchical Coronation+]
Précis
Morgetheon is now little remembered; his memory cursed and execrated for turning billions away from their rightful service to the God-Empeor – and his voice and servants, the High Lords of Terra, of course. In life, Morgetheon appears to have been a conflicted and complex figure, alternately courageous and craven, vacillating and stolid. A priest of regional importance, his preerred biography painted him as a repentant sinner; one who had initally opposed the 'Primarch', before having a seemingly Damascene conversion and becoming one of Volnoscere's most fervent and effective supporters, bringing with him a colossal army.
Ever-dogged by rumours and malicious propaganda, Morgetheon lived a short and troubled life in the Partisan cause. Alternative sources both within and without the Orthodoxy painted him as little more than a cynical and cowardly opportunist, who fell into a position of influence after catastrophic mismanagement of his diocese handed a millions-strong expeditionary force to the Iron Guard – who promptly revealed themselves as Partisans. Facing execution for incompetence, these accounts suggest he was simply fleeing the wrath of the Scutoria closing in on him for his failure to properly prepare the Cardinal Worlds, and threw his lot in with the beneficiaries of his incompetence.
Having establishing himself within Morqub after his self-imposed exile from his previous seat on Sanctram – the former Cardinal-Supreme of Helipolis and his followers became instrumental in spreading the word of the False Primarch, perhaps sincerely, and perhaps simply to provide him with insurance against being ousted as a turncoat.
Since the righteous damnatio memorae enacted by personal seal of Benedin II, High Lord and Eccelsiarch, very little official information exists of this anti-Ecclesiarch (as the Instersuae came to brand him). A chance find in the mnemno-databanks on Grime’s Hope, however, led to the discovery of The Recorde off the Melancholy Lyfe and Turbulent Tymes of Antiecclesiarch Morgetheon I, Ecclesiarch and Cardinal Supreme, penned by an unknown hand. That so heretical a text survived the post-war purging is surprising, and the document was sequestered by Inquisitor Andreas, much to Benedin II’s fury.
There are records elsewhere of Morgetheon’s role in the early war and the establishment of the Sanctramites. However, this was merely the beginning of Morgetheon’s heresies, and account must be made for how he came to hold so lofty a title as Ecclesiarch, even if briefly.
***
 |
| [//Revelation of the Martyrs, a pict-recording of Morgetheon displaying those 'brave marines who gave their lives for the true son of the God-Emperor' during an address to the assembled army on Oblitus Primary. This was formerly titled Execration of the Traitors, with Morgetheon displaying the heads of those marines betraying Terra by standing with the Abomination-unto-him.+] [//jamie_c/@mutantsnakeeyes+] |
Post-Sanctram
'Morgetheon, the Cardinal-Prime of the Morqub and Heliopolis diocese; the Father, Morgetheon II, his son, Prophanes, archbishop of Morqub; and all the bishops and abbots of Sanctram, met at the hive-city of Avran, in presence of the Chapter Masters Solarion and Kastor Drak. In their presence, the Cardinal-Prime, on the fifth day before the calends of Sanguinalia, being the fourth day of the week, and the feast of Saints Cosmus and Damianus, the Martyrs, proved his innocence in the church of Saint Keysler the Apostle, by oath, in the presence of the above-named Chapter Masters, and of all the clergy and the people, upon the relics of the Saints and upon the holy Lectitio Divinitatus, and that he had neither commanded nor wished that HIS One True Son should be put to death. He made oath that he would give satisfaction in the following manner: In the first instance, he made oath that he would not recognise Benedin II, false Supreme Pontiff, and his Orthodox successors, so long as they should not repute him to be HIS true son…'
[//{frag.} Excuplation of the Ecclesiarch. +]
The events immediately after the war on Sanctram are blurry, with no clear record for what came to pass. The fragmentary extract above purports to describe how Morgetheon came before Solarion of the Inheritors and Kastor Drak of the Void Barons acting as heralds of the ‘Primarch’. The extract implies Morgetheon formally repented and swore an oath of loyalty to the abomination-unto-him.
The account, however, is full of anachronisms. For example, no other records suggest either Chapter Master visited Avran, and Archbishop Prophanes had died some fifty years before the first appearance of the Abomination-unto-him. A different record speaks of Morgetheon in tattered robes being hauled before Lord Castellan Ljunge Blégos of the Iron Guard, begging for his life, whilst another accounts that a nameless cardinal escaped the massacre at Sanctram disguised as a wounded Mother Superior.
Whilst The Recorde may tell an overly supportive account of events, something forced Morgetheon to change sides. Some whisper that it was Arch-Cardinal Verashyon’s actions on Sanctram that drove Morgetheon into the heretical Partisan arms, though those found to be repeating the rumours were persecuted as heretics.
Whilst The Recorde may tell an overly supportive account of events, something forced Morgetheon to change sides. Some whisper that it was Arch-Cardinal Verashyon’s actions on Sanctram that drove Morgetheon into the heretical Partisan arms, though those found to be repeating the rumours were persecuted as heretics.
***
 |
| [//jamie_c/@mutantsnakeeyes+] |
The Council of Sanctram
Multiple accounts describe the Council of Sanctram, in which Morgetheon’s was invested as Ecclesiarch in the name of Volnoscere. The Recorde describes as a twelve-day ecumenical counsel of the greatest minds in the sub-sector discussing the nature of the ‘Primarch’ in relation to the God-Emperor, and which ended in the Acclaimation of Ecclesiarch Morgetheon I.Back-references in a hastily and incompletely redacted Book of Hours suggest the process was a farce, with only those clergymen who had already voiced support for the Abomination in attendance. It was during this meeting that a spontaneous acclamation called for Benedin II to be stripped of all title, and Morgetheon be named the true Ecclesiarch in his stead:
'Now, when it was agreed that Benedin II was holding the throne of Terra amid general hatred, at the behest of all in attendance, but against his own humble will, [Morgetheon] was hailed Ecclesiarch by the Heliopolean clergy. This took place at Sanctram on the first Ides of that year. He was presented with the full regalia of the Ecclesiarch, which by miraculous purpose and proof of the God-Emperor’s favour had appeared here from its location on Terra, by Diadumenianus, Pontifex Minor in Morqub.'
That the symbols of office were already present at the council speaks volumes of the spontaneity of the Acclamation, but nonetheless Morgetheon was named 'Ecclesiarch of the Unified Church of the God-Emperor and his True Son'.
To support him, Morgetheon named Father McPhail as Cardinal of Sanctram. A controversial figure to many in the Partisan cause, McPhail was seen as little more than a puppet of Hy-Sultanissmo Giusek XI, a noble whose family were key supporters and financiers of the Partisan cause. This act reveals some of Morgetheon’s political savvy as McPhail was influential in the Followers of the True Son, the other church faction in the Partisan cause, and whose support Morgetheon vitally needed. Cardinal McPhail and Morgetheon together penned the Bull of Unity, clarifying Morgetheon’s position as head of all church factions supporting Volnoscere.
Morgetheon left the council with a new title, unlimited ecumenical authority, and a unified church. That such undivided and unsupervised power was invested in the hands of so hated a heretic was notable for two reasons: that it provided a solid anchorpoint for those faithful to the 'Returned Primarch', and legitimacy to an uncertain laity. It may simply have been that Morgetheon was in the right place and the right time, rather than any inherent worthiness of the title – or perhaps the other candidates had the political savvy to hedge their bets, wishing to see the fallout of the False Primarch's march. Were he to be defeated, they would certainly face execration, torture and death – but how much more terrible would be the public execution of the head of a False Church? In this view, Morgetheon was little more than a convenient patsy placed there by the influence of Partisan politicos, and pulled and pushed by the tides of fate.
To support him, Morgetheon named Father McPhail as Cardinal of Sanctram. A controversial figure to many in the Partisan cause, McPhail was seen as little more than a puppet of Hy-Sultanissmo Giusek XI, a noble whose family were key supporters and financiers of the Partisan cause. This act reveals some of Morgetheon’s political savvy as McPhail was influential in the Followers of the True Son, the other church faction in the Partisan cause, and whose support Morgetheon vitally needed. Cardinal McPhail and Morgetheon together penned the Bull of Unity, clarifying Morgetheon’s position as head of all church factions supporting Volnoscere.
 |
| [//Father MacPhail leading the Black Deacons during the Sorrowful Years+] [//jamie_c/@mutantsnakeeyes+] |
***
War of Faith
Morgetheon’s first sermon was preached from the back of the Pulpit Ambulans, a colossal walking cathedra that gave a very physical presence to the Partisan Ecclesiarch. During this sermon Morgetheon declared a War of Faith against all those who denied the ‘Primarch’s’ divinity.The pulpit was an ancient mobile-platform, decorated with symbols of the Ecclesiarch, was believed owned by the first Cardinal-Prime. It was a shock for many to discover that Morgetheon had altered this relic, replacing the twin-headed Aquilla with the skull-headed eagle of the Caputmori, the heretical symbol of the Partisans. Those righteous followers of the High Lords of Terra and the Orthodox church were appalled by such apostasy and vowed to bring down vengeance on Morgetheon.
 |
| [//Morgetheon Enthroned+] [//jamie_c/@mutantsnakeeyes+] |
A backwater shrine world, many assumed that Morgetheon was simply crushing those clergy who had refused to support him. However, it was a calculated act revealing some strategy, for St Farzeln the Merciful housed a secret flagellenti-rehabilitation plant. Once this was secured, political opponents of the Heliopolean Ecclesiarchy started disappearing in large numbers, only for Morgetheon’s forces to swell with the bio-mechanical monstrosities.
***
 |
| [//jamie_c/@mutantsnakeeyes+] |
Morgetheon has been largely forgotten by history, and the few extant records tend to portray him as a bully with a victim complex – but to paint him as a villain is perhaps unfair. Manipulated and forced into a position for which there was little precedent, it is little wonder that he became a conflicted and tormented figure – but it is important to recognise that his faith seemed sincere to his billions of followers: and his lack of fanaticism meant that his brief period in office was surprisingly subtle and broadly beneficial to the denizens of the Morqub Sector.
Long-neglected by the Orthodoxy as a backwater, the Sector's faithful were invigorated and unified by Morgetheon, and the armies and factions that he inspired made it all the more likely that the False Primarch could indeed have won his war. The anti-Ecclesiarch's sermons were projected on countless worlds both within Morqub and Sector Heliopolis – swaying many influential Heliopolitan figures and creating a Fifth Column of Partisans within the supposedly Orthodox Sector. It was owing to Morgetheon that millions would answer the call and take up arms for their beloved God-Emperor, the Last True Son and his Ecclesiarch.
Morgetheon’s dream of a new dynasty of Ecclesiarchs under his patronage, however, would remain unfulfilled, for Morgetheon could not account for the savageness of the Rose of the Pentarchy…
“There is no way to hold something that is truly beautiful not without consequences. There is a reason why roses have thorns”
[//extr. The Recorde off the Melancholy Lyfe and Turbulent Tymes of Antiecclesiarch Morgetheon I [Redacted] +]