Great Cull

The Great Cull was a lamentable event that occurred in the history of the Star Wardens Space Marine Chapter in the 37 th Millennium, following the tumultuous period known as the Age of Apostasy under the reign of the Mad High Lord Goge Vandire. The Great Cull was launched to reduce the influence of the Ecclesiarchy to a more manageable level, at gunpoint if need be, and the newly formed Star Wardens set about their task with relish. However, the Ecclesiarchy still had much power, and soon the Star Wardens faced multiple accounts of censure for their excesses in tearing down the power structure of the Ecclesiarchy.

History
In response to the horrific atrocities perpetrated during the Reign of Blood, the High Lords in revenge ordered that the Great Cull take place in order to reduce the influence of the Ecclesiarchy. The Star Wardens went about this with relish and perhaps with too much zeal. Newly emboldened by the secular sermons of Zephran Caul the Star Wardens purged the Ecclesiarchy at gunpoint, slaughtering countless members of the organization. Several shrine worlds were burned to the ground by the chapter, and the streets ran red with the blood of the pious and the corrupt. Disillusioned with the state of the Imperium and facing numerous accounts of censure the Star Wardens would then undertake a millennia-long self-imposed exile to the eastern fringes. To this day there remains a deep disgust between the Ecclesiarchy and the Star Wardens, and the chapter still fights to control the Ecclesiarchy by working closely with the Ordo Sanctorum.