Order of the Sacred Rose

The Order of the Sacred Rose is one of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, or the Sisters of Battle, founded in honour of Saint Arabella by the Ecclesiarch Deacis VI in the middle of the 38th Millennium at the same time as the Order of the Bloody Rose was Founded. The Order is based on Terra in the Convent Prioris.

Order History

Notable Campaigns

The War for Piety (835.M41) - The Shrine World of Piety rematerialised in realspace in 835.M41 after being swallowed by a massive Warp Storm two standard centuries earlier. The planet was, however, almost unrecognisable, having been transformed during its time in the Immaterium into a hideous Daemon World. Canoness Sariah of the Order of the Sacred Rose immediately lead a force of Battle-Sisters to the planet to retrieve artefacts from the Reliquary of Hope, one of the few Imperial sites on Piety to have withstood the corruption of Chaos. As the rest of her force established a perimeter around the reliquary, Sariah lead several squads of Sisters into the labyrinthine corridors beneath. For three solar days Canoness Sariah and her Battle-Sisters fought their way through daemon and mutant-haunted passageways; Bolters cut down scores of blood-hungry daemon-hounds and the Sisters' Flamers purged vast swathes of bloated Plague Beasts. Only Sariah and two Celestians survived the horror to rejoin their order's Battle Sisters on the surface, having recovered the left thighbone of Saint Dolan and three pages from an original copy of the Lexicon of Falsehoods from a stasis vault in the reliquary. The surviving Battle Sisters withdrew to orbit with their prizes just as a fleet of Grey Knights starships arrived and laid waste to the planet with Cyclonic Torpedoes, performing the merciful Exterminatus which put the world's tortured inhabitants out of their misery and offered them the Emperor's peace.
Second Halo Schism (Unknown Date.M41) - When the Arch Confessor Cornelius preached the War of Faith that saw the Demagogues of the Second Halo Schism burned on pyres twenty metres high, it was the female warriors of the Order of the Sacred Rose that broke the back of the Heretical cult's fanatical defence of the Palace of Radiance.
War of Faith - Kaurava System (Unknown Date.M41) - Led by their Canoness Selena Agna, the Order helped lead an Imperial Crusade against xenos, Heretics and the Forces of Chaos within the Kaurava System. This Crusade brought them into brief conflict with other Imperial forces, including the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter and the Imperial Guard's 252nd Conservator Regiment. The Battle Sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose were supported by the Living Saint Anais in the defence of the Order's primary bastion in the Sama District, on the planet of Kaurava I.
Defence of Valedor (997.M41) - The Tryanid Hive Fleet Leviathan overruns the Ecclesiarchy world of Valedor in a matter of hours, slaughtering the entire population of pilgrims and Ministorum Adepts, as well as overwhelming a Battle Barge of the Iron Lords Chapter. A small force of Battle-Sisters from the Order of the Sacred Rose represents the only humans to bear witness to the event, having barely fought their way clear of the carnage.

Notable Sisters of the Sacred Rose

Saint Arabella - Saint Arabella is the patron of the Order of the Sacred Rose. Although this long-dead martyr never led her Order in battle, it was founded in her name. She was one of five companions of Alicia Dominica the patron and founder of the Adepta Sororitas. She was the last of the surviving six Sisters to enter the Emperor's Throne Room when they were brought before him for a personal audience during the Reign of Blood in M36 by the Custodians. Arabella disappeared in late M36 shortly after the death of Sister Mina - her ultimate fate is unknown.
Canoness Selena Agna - Selena Agna was the Canoness of the Order of the Sacred Rose. She personally led her Order in the defence of the Kaurava System during the large incursion of xenos and Heretic forces that assaulted that system's worlds. Canoness Agna and her Sisters also fought against various Imperial forces durigng that unfortunate conflict, including the Blood Ravens Space Marines Chapter and the 252nd Conservator Regiment of the Imperial Guard, deeming the Imperial Guard Regiment as a threat for refusing to cede to her authority over all Imperial forces, and the Blood Ravens as corrupted, somehow responsible for the massive warp storms that engulfed the entire system. The Order attempted to purge the system of all xenos threats as well as those deemed as heretics.

Order Appearance

Order Colours

The colours of the Sisters of the Sacred Rose's vestments and Power Armour is white with contrasting black vestments. The linings of their cloaks are red as are their weapons.

Order Badge

The badge of the Order of the Sacred Rose is a simple white rose.

Sources

Codex: Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition), pp. 19, 35
Codex: Witch Hunters (4th Edition), pp. 6-7
Imperial Armour Volume Two (Second Edition) - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pg. 22
The Inquisition (Sourcebook), pg. 65
Dawn of War - Soulstorm (PC Game)