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The definition of catholic or its properties is really not a cut and dry thing...really its open to personal opinion more then anything..me myself i'd say the GK are closer then the BT but thats just me.

Not Black Templars, those are protestants lol. Seriously Catholic guilt= Dark Angels HANDS DOWN. I should know. i went to catholic private school and I am a Minister, so I know... well... stuff! Iconography leaves the Black Templars as the Church of England or I am not a vicar! Also food for thought, you could deck out a Adeptus Mechanicus army with a really catholic theme.

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Ironically, all of the robes, rituals, and iconolography of the Cathelic church are directly ported from the Roman Legion's worship of Mythras. This was a requirement by the Legions for them to convert to Christianity, and was a requirement Emperor Constatine imposed on the Council of Nicea in order for him to adopt Christianity as the state religion. Thankfully, Mythras was a resurrected diety born of a virgin, just like Krishna and Osiris.

SJ

Mithra was the god of soldiers, however springing fully grown from a rock means he wasn't born of a virgin, or of anything really. Nor was he recorded dying which kind of puts a crimp in the whole resurrection idea. Constantine imposed nothing on the Council of Nicea except that they resolve a particular theological discussion that was causing controversy in his empire (the Arian heresy) nor did he make Christianity the state religion, that was Theodisius about 60 years later. Given that Christians were still arguing over whether it was even possible for a Christian to be a soldier it's highly unlikely that the emperor would want his legions converting. They might have become conscientious objectors.

To the OP, as said by others, Black Templars if you want a stereotypical crusading feel, or Dark Angels if you want a more monastic feel.

The Blood Angels have a certain blood of christ type thing going on.

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Ironically, all of the robes, rituals, and iconolography of the Cathelic church are directly ported from the Roman Legion's worship of Mythras. This was a requirement by the Legions for them to convert to Christianity, and was a requirement Emperor Constatine imposed on the Council of Nicea in order for him to adopt Christianity as the state religion. Thankfully, Mythras was a resurrected diety born of a virgin, just like Krishna and Osiris.

SJ

I'm not sure of the sources for this, it is one potential interpretation but I don't think there's any major evidence for it, although Constantine was a worshipper of Sol Invictus and he could be cognate with Mithras, especially as the sun and a Sol like figure is present on many Mithraic tauroctonies. Certainly Constantine seems to have conflated Jesus and Sol Invictus at least in his own mind. Mithras was born from a stone or an egg. Osiris was not resurrected in the same way as Jesus he was chopped into pieces by his jealous brother Set and cobbled back together by Isis as a mummy. He is always shown with green skin to represent decomposition. Who his other was is open to much argument! Mithraism was seemingly pretty limited and as far as we can tell (because it is very very poorly known) it was the preserve of officers. Certainly extant Mithraeums are small, none I know are bigger than a large chapel, not spaciouos enough for all the men (and late Roman armies had no legions as such). We don't know what robes or ceremonies Mithraism had so but it could be influential. As for iconography I can't see it. Early Christian iconography was the icthys, alpha and omega, the good shepherd. Mithraic iconography was the tauroctony (Mithras slaying the bull), Cautes and Cautopates (his two 'helpers'), Mithras born from an egg/rock and the sun featured a lot. Also there were the grades of initiation which seem a bit like a masonic lodge.

I think there is a definite call for a Mithraic Imperial faction, one with Mithraic symbology and a belief that the Emperor slew the bull which allowed eternal life/brought knowledge/defeated evil. They could wear pseudo-Persian and late Roman stuff. Could be good.

Sorry I just reread this and I came off a bit of a TFG, I am an ancient historian so I have a keen interest in popular conceptions! No insult intended I just thought there was some stuff I did not recognise from the source material I am aware of. If there is stuff I don't know I'd love to see it.

Word Bearers are the Jehovah's Witnesses of the Chaos Gods.