Elite/Spessmehreen
| “ | As our bodies are armoured with Adamantium, our souls are protected with our loyalty. As our bolters are charged with death for the Emperor's enemies, our thoughts are charged with his wisdom. As our ranks advance, so does our devotion, for are we not Marines? Are we not the chosen of the Emperor, his loyal servants unto death? | ” |
— Brother-Chaplain Fergas Nils' address to the defenders of Portrein | ||
A Chaplain is a Firstborn and Primaris Marine specialist officer of the Adeptus Astartes and serves as the appointed spiritual leader of a Space Marine Chapter.
Chaplains are the warrior-priests that minister to the spiritual and psychological well-being of their fellow battle-brothers, instilling in them the values and beliefs of the Chapter and promote the veneration or in rarer cases the actual worship of the Emperor of Mankind.
Chaplains lead from the front as awe-inspiring warrior-priests, fighting wherever the foe is most fierce, leading their brethren and praising the Emperor through the destruction of His enemies. Rejoicing in the glorious act of war, Chaplains exhort their battle-brothers to ever greater deeds of bravery and devotion.
In battle, the Chaplains will be at the forefront of the Chapter's battlelines, rousing their fellow Space Marines through their words and actions. Their Power Armour is black and often incorporates Imperial skull iconography, most commonly in the form of a skull-shaped helmet. Most Chaplains wield a Power Weapon that takes the form of a mace and is called a Crozius Arcanum. They are also equipped with an Imperial holy symbol known as a Rosarius.
Individual Chaplains are assigned to each company within a Space Marine Chapter. Others, including the Reclusiarch who cares for the Chapter's sacred Reclusiam and the Master of Sanctity who is the chief Chaplain of a Chapter and an officer whose rank is usually subordinate only to that of the Chapter Master himself, operate within the Chapter's command structure independent of any specific company.