Remember that the sisters are really nuns, even if they are militant ones with guns. Worship is more important to them than preaching. There are preachers and missionaries who can do that.
Everything the sisters do is ultimately either in praise of the Emperor or as punishment for failing to worship him. They are militant nuns after all.
What we are seeing in the example of Sanctuary 101 demonstrates an important difference between worship and preaching. It does not matter to the Ecclesiarchy that there is no population on the planet other than the inhabitants of the convent to preach to. What matters is that the Emperor is being worshipped. Therefore it can be legitimately claimed that the Emperor is being worshipped even in the remotest parts of the galaxy.
Preaching is about spreading the teachings of the faith. By contrast, worship is about praise and building a spiritual relationship.
In setting the scene this way, James Swallow (the author) is tapping into a normal aspect of present day religious observance. It is very common to find churches conducting worship services at times in the morning when most of the population is still in bed and where no-one other than the priest or minister is present. What is held to matter is that God is being worshipped in an appropriate way, not whether or not anyone else is there to see it. You might preach for the benefit of other people, but you worship for the benefit of your own soul and your relationship with God.
Does that answer the question?
--- In battle-sisters@yahoogroups.com, "johnlay95" <john_lay@...> wrote:
>
> So why would the Sister build a Sanctuary on a planet with no one to preach to? After reading the book I still do not remember any talk about there being anything else on the planet but the Sanctuary and the Necrons ruins.
>
> Thanks for the feedback.
>
> John
>
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