Editing Ministry

{{Status|Canon}}
[[File:H2A Terminals - Stewards.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Steward]]s assisted [[minister (title)|ministers]] in their ministerial bodies{{Ref/Book|Halo: Broken Circle|Page=79}}]]
{{Quote|Ministries seem to proliferate. Certainly faster than San'Shyuum. Soon there will be more Ministries than there are members of our species.|The [[Prophet of Inner Conviction]] on the rapid rise of ministries in the early days of the Covenant.<ref>''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'', p. 61</ref>}}
'''Ministries''' were a political and military subdivision of the [[Covenant]] empire. Based in the [[Tower Districts]] of [[High Charity]], these various bodies were lead by [[minister (title)|minister]]s and [[vice minister]]s.{{Ref/Book|Halo: Contact Harvest|Page=304}} Following the [[Fall of High Charity]], the Covenant ministries were overrun by the [[Flood]] invasion.{{Ref/Book|Wages of Sin}}{{Ref/Book|Halo: Shadow of Intent|Page=39}}
==Function==
In Covenant governance, the [[High Council]] tasked [[lesser council]]s with bureaucratic oversight and day-to-day governance of the empire, with lesser councils thus issuing edicts to the various subordinate ministries to enact their decrees and laws. In practice however, each ministry was effectively an independent body and acted with impunity. Multiple ministries were sometimes formed into work groups called [[Assembly (Covenant)|assemblies]], used to tackle specific problems identified by the High Council.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=236-237}}

Each ministry acted as a governing body of the Covenant, directing vital religious and secular activites within the empire. The power and prestige of their groups waxed and waned as they waged bloody internal wars for bureaucratic dominance and promotion of their particular brand of orthodoxy. Ministries controlled a large number of independent martial organisations, with the empire as a whole not having one strict [[Covenant military|standing military]]. During the [[Human-Covenant War]], three ministries served as the primary military force encountered by humans.{{Ref/Book|Id=fb7|Halo: Fleet Battles core rulebook|Page=7}}

A given ministry is led by a [[San'Shyuum]] [[Minister (title)|minister]], with a [[vice minister]] under him. Some ministries may also employ a [[Minor Minister]]. The ministries employed [[senior staffer|senior]] and [[junior staffer]]s below these leadership positions.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH9|HCH|Chapter=9}}

==Known ministries of the Covenant==
At the time of the empire's dissolution, there were hundreds of ministries within the Covenant. These ministries generally had broadly overlapping spheres of influence and duty, which promoted internal competition and infighting - and allowed the Hierarchy and High Council absolute authority over the Covenant's imperial holdings for millennia. Ministries could be created and dissolved with relative ease, and by the Covenant's end some existed purely to create busywork for particularly ambitious members of the High Council.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
*[[Ministry of Abnegation]] - responsible for overseeing the [[Sangheili]] order of the [[Ascetics]].{{Ref/Book|Id=evg56|EVG|Page=56|Detail=Elite Ascetic}} 
*[[Ministry of Anticipatory Security]] - a short-lived ministry responsible for detecting threats to [[High Charity]] before they became a threat.
*[[Ministry of Artifact Survey]] - presumably a ministry created for the purpose of finding new Forerunner artifacts.
*[[Ministry of Concert]] - responsible for settling matters of dispute between Covenant client species, and representing the lower-caste species such as [[Kig-Yar]] and [[Unggoy]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH9}}
*[[Ministry of Conversion]] - responsible for exploring space already known to the Covenant to find new convertees to Covenant faith.
*[[Ministry of Discovery]] - responsible for technological development and reverse-engineering [[Forerunner]] artifacts.<ref name="HO5">''[[Halo: Oblivion]]'', Chapter 5</ref>
*[[Ministry of Etiology]] - likely responsible for the "study of causes, origins, or reasons", as based on its name.<ref>''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]'', [[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]</ref>
*[[Ministry of Fervent Intercession]] - famous for the number of [[Zealot]]s in their ranks, this ministry is a semi-monastic organisation obsessed with discovery and control of Forerunner sites.{{Ref/Reuse|fb7}}
*[[Ministry of Fortitude]] - responsible for the distribution of Forerunner artifacts among the Covenant client species.
*[[Ministry of the Hearth]] - the Minister of the Hearth, [[Laka Mowai]], was responsible for leading the [[First Assembled Choir of Builders]] in designing [[High Charity]].
*[[Ministry of Infidels]] - likely responsible for the investigation of technology produced by those designated "infidels", such as [[human]]ity.{{Ref/Reuse|HO5}}
*[[Ministry of Inquisition]] - likely responsible for investigating and trying [[List of known Covenant heretics|heretic]]s.
*[[Ministry of Kindly Subjection]] - responsible for matters of diplomacy in the early days of the Covenant.
*[[Ministry of Penance]] - likely responsible for matters of the Covenant judicial process.
*[[Ministry of Preparation]] - responsible for oversight of biological research and genetic engineering, alongside creating the [[Prelate]]s.
*[[Ministry of Preservation]] - a military ministry responsible for putting down rebellions and attempted secessions.<ref>''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'', p.10</ref>
*[[Ministry of Relative Reconciliation]] - a diplomatic ministry present in the early days of the Covenant.<ref name="bc18">''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'', p.18-23</ref>
*[[Ministry of Relic Safety]] - responsible for the study of Forerunner artifacts.<ref name="bc60">''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'', p.60</ref>
*[[Ministry of Resolution]] - one of the main ministries responsible for the war with humanity, originally tasked with hunting piracy.{{Ref/Reuse|fb7}}
*[[Ministry of Sacral Assembly]] - a ministry that oversaw the construction of ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'' and possibly other vessels.<ref>''[[Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo]]'', Shadow of Intent - p.70-71</ref>
*[[Ministry of Sanitation]] - responsible for matters of public health.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/haze-of-glory ''Halo Waypoint'': Haze of Glory]</ref>
*[[Ministry of Tranquility]] - responsible for exploring space, acquiring forerunner artifacts and bringing new client species into the Covenant with little care for how these means are accomplished.{{Ref/Reuse|fb7}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Covenant government}}
[[Category:The Covenant]]