Black Order

The Black Order (黒の教団, Kuro no kyōdan) is a religious organization that works to defeat the Millennium Earl and his army of Akuma. The official, universally recognized emblem of the Black Order is the Rose Cross (ローズクロス, Rōzukurosu).

History
Several hundred years before the main story, an artifact known as "The Cube" was found by mankind. Inside were details, left behind by an ancient civilization, of a seven thousand year old war against the Millennium Earl. The Cube told of how the Earl was held at bay, and how future generations would be able to fight against the Earl when he returned to attempt to destroy the world again.

When the Earl returned as the Cube said he would, a group known as the New World Alliance founded the Black Order and charged it with recovering the shards of Innocence to equip them to new Accommodators. So far, forty-one of the one hundred and nine pieces of Innocence have been collected, though this does not account for the pieces that were destroyed when Tyki Mikk began killing Exorcists.

Mission
The Black Order in all of its branches have several main goals that they wish to achieve, regardless of the personal missions of others:
 * Collect Innocence.
 * Find and train Accommodators.
 * Locate the Heart.
 * Defeat the Millennium Earl and the Noah Clan in the final confrontation.

General Operation
The Black Order is overseen by Central, a subsection of the Vatican in Rome, Italy that exists for the specific purpose of controlling the Black Order when certain matters require that the Order get assistance from a higher source.

Different branches of the Black Order are overseen by their own branch heads, and each branch head answers to Komui Lee, who is the official head liaison between Central and the Black Order.

Despite there being a specific chain of command, it is not uncommon for higher ups to forgo informing certain officials of orders and operations, especially if the higher up in question feels that the official beneath them who typically handles the distribution of orders is too sympathetic, such as when Malcolm C. Lvellie commissioned the creation of the Third Exorcists without telling Komui Lee, the head of the Black Order.

If orders come directly from the Pope, entire chains of command are skipped completely, something that is not uncommon in modern-day military structures.

Though the existence of Black Order isn't known by the general populace, government-run services such as train stations and local law enforcement agencies and their employees can recognize members of the Black Order by the Rose Cross they wear on their uniforms, something those who wear the cross use to get themselves free transportation and allows them to override law enforcement if a case is suspected to involve Innocence.

Structure
There are seven branches of the Black Order (Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania), and each branch is overseen by a branch chief. All branches of the Black Order answer to the European Branch, a.k.a. Headquarters, where branch chief Komui Lee acts as the chief officer. Komui relays orders from Central to the other branches, and controls the movement of all Exorcists.

Above Komui are the Great Generals (大元帥, Daigensui), five shadowed figures whose faces are never seen, though they seem to have eyes everywhere. It is not known who they answer to, though they give orders to the Generals and other officers and have ties to the Vatican.

Exorcists who exceed one hundred percent synchronization with their Innocence become potential candidates for the occupancy of the General (元帥, Gensui) title (not to be confused with the Great Generals). Though the Generals answer to Komui and the Great Generals, they are usually stand-alone officers, wandering the continents on their own as they search for Innocence and Accommodators. It is not uncommon for them to only check in every few months, though some (i.e. Cross Marian) will go for years without contacting anyone.

The exact method by which an Exorcist becomes a General is currently unknown, but exceeding the one hundred percent synchronization limit is one of the standards that must be met.

Each branch of the Black Order has seven different departments, each overseen by a section chief, and each with their own duties:
 * 1) Science Section - Responsible for the research and development of the Innocence, as well as designing the uniforms for the Exorcists.
 * 2) Intelligence Section - In charge of the Finders, who gather information from around the world.
 * 3) Medical Section - Responsible for the general health and welfare of the Black Order personnel.
 * 4) Signal Sections - In charge of all communications between Finders, Exorcists and the Order.
 * 5) Security Section - Guard all entryways (i.e. gates, waterways, etc.) into the facility.
 * 6) Diplomatic Secion - They handle affairs with various countries and arrange for support and cooperation.
 * 7) Logistics Sections - In charge of day-to-day functioning in the Order, including meals, cleaning and accounting.

Recruitment
Though the Black Order is relatively unknown to the general populace, they seem to have no problem with recruiting those who find out about them (i.e. Chaozii Han's friends, who became Finders after he became an Exorcist, and Emilia Galmar, who joined solely to become Timothy Hearst's tutor).

Accommodators become members by default, and there once was a time when people who were found to be Accommodators were made to join the Order against their will (i.e. Lenalee Lee). Since Komui Lee became chief officer, though, Accommodators seem to be given a choice, though this is tentative as the newest Exorcists have all willingly joined (except in the case of Timothy Hearst, where Yu Kanda was intent on forcefully dragging an initially unwilling Timothy back to Headquarters only for Timothy to later decide to come of his own free will).

Those who do not join the Order directly often become supporters, and entire families may remain supporters of the Order for generations, such as Anita and her mother did when they converted their brothel to double over as a hideout for Black Order members.

Uniforms
Uniforms vary from rank to rank, as well as in different positions.

Branch chiefs each wear a specialized, long white coat that has a silver-colored cross on the back, accenting silver lines on each side of it, silver crosses on their shoulders, and a metal Rose Cross on their left breast. Bak Chan wears an altered version of this, his being a balero jacket with the same color scheme. Recently, the jackets of branch chiefs have been altered, the metal Rose Cross being replaced with a cloth badge bearing the same emblem, as well as aiguillettes on the shoulders and right breast. The newer jackets have also seen the removal of the silver crosses on the back and arms.

All Exorcists wear black uniforms with silver (recently changed to red) trimmings, each one being altered to fit the specific Exorcists fighting style (i.e, Lenalee Lee's uniforms always featuring skirts or short shorts for bottoms to free up her legs for the use of her Dark Boots). The outfits are only uniform in that they bear a Rose Cross on the left breast, and more recently aiguillettes and other signs of ranking on the right and left breasts. The Generals are an exception to the colour of trimmings, possesing gold trimmings instead of silver or red.

All Finders wear long, hooded, tan jackets that cover their entire bodies, with zippered pockets lining both sides of the breast, and all members of the Science Division wear lab coats over their civilian clothing, some choosing to wear dress shirts, vests and ties under their coats and others wearing just pants and t-shirts.

Policies

 * Once recruited, an Exorcist shall not leave the Order.
 * Compensation may be paid to the families of Exorcists, but contact is not permitted.
 * When personnel die in the line of duty, their remains shall be cremated. The family will not be informed; this is to prevent the possibility of personnel returning as Akuma.
 * All information regarding the status of Black Order personnel is strictly classified. Family may not request information.
 * Blood relatives of Accommodators may be seized for study. (This policy no longer applies; revoked by Komui Lee.)
 * Those who leave the Order must be 'cleansed,' a process that includes drinking an unknown liquid that erases one's memories of their time with the Order.

Central


A facility located in the Vatican, Central acts as the liaison between His Holiness The Pope and the Black Order. Central is said to have ties with the Great Generals, though the extent of this relationship is unknown.

Special Inspector:


 * Malcolm C. Lvellie

Assistant to the Inspector:


 * Howard Link (deceased)
 * Unnamed Assistant

Other:


 * Unnamed Cardinal (a.k.a. Apocryphos)


 * CROW (a.k.a Central Office Battle Corps): Crow is an elite group of humans from the Black Order who act as special enforcers. Though they are not endowed with Innocence, they possess unique skills and the ability to cast powerful spells to bind their enemies.

Trivia

 * The Rose Cross, emblem of the Black Order, is based off of a real life symbol of the same name, and is associated with, but not limited to, such philosophical, religious and secret organizations as the Rosicrucian Order and the Freemasons, and has even been associated with Aleister Crowley, who was also used, in part, for the inspiration of a Black Order Exorcist.
 * Central's Emblem strongly resembles the sacred Holy Grail.