Confessor Cromwell

Confessor Cromwell is the leader of the Children of Atom, a Megaton cult that worships an undetonated atomic bomb left over from the Great War. He was born in 2233, and arrived in Megaton when he was in his early 20's. He was allowed to stay due to the blessing of his predecessor in the church. When his mentor died, Cromwell become the cult's leader. Although he never mentions it Mother Maya is his wife and female counterpart in his church.

He can be seen standing in the center of town, next to the bomb and praying to it in ankle-deep irradiated water. He even beseeches Atom to "shape his fragile form", perhaps hinting at his knowledge of or even intentions to undergo a radiation-induced mutation. He is heard preaching to his audience about the teachings of the Children of the Atom, Mainly on the subject of "birthing a thousand stars", relating to his (and the children of atoms) belief that inside every atom is an entire universe.

Even if the player disarms the bomb in Megaton, Confessor Cromwell will not react to this and will talk to you as if nothing has happened.

Considering he spends the majority of his time in a pool of irradiated water, one has to wonder how he doesn't succumb to radiation poisoning.

Background
He was born in 2233.

Unmarked quest: Church Donations
Donating to the Children of Atom through the appropriate dialogue choice will result in good karma. The amount of karma gained is proportional to the amount of caps given to the church.

Appearances
Confessor Cromwell appears only in Fallout 3.

Bugs

 * Confessor Cromwell will sometimes die without you killing him. Probably due to radiation bug.
 * Confessor Cromwell will sometimes disappear from Megaton. Using console commands to warp to his location will show that he has fallen through the world geometry. This bug was not addressed by the 1.2 patch, which otherwise corrected most bugs related to unintended NPC deaths in Megaton.
 * If the outside-Megaton-glitch is done to find him at Springvale Elementary he will not be going on about "Atom" or any of his quotes, he will simply stand there until interacted with. (PS3/360)
 * If you snipe him from Lucas Simms' House Lookout, he will stay in his preaching pose, and his head will be in pieces but floating above his neck, once you go near him, he will collapse.

Quotes

 * "Behold! He's coming with the clouds! And every eye shall be blind with his glory! Every ear shall be stricken deaf to hear the thunder of his voice!"
 * "Let the men, women and children of the Earth come forth to gather and behold the power of Atom."
 * "Let those who dwell here in his favored land attend now to the words of the Prophet of Atom!"
 * "Come forth and drink the waters of the Glow, for this ancient weapon of war is our salvation, it is the very symbol of Atom's glory!"
 * "Let it serve as a reminder of the Division that has occurred in the past and the resplendence of promise of our division in the times to come!"
 * "Give your bodies to Atom, my friends. Release yourself to his power, feel his Glow and be Divided."
 * "There shall be no tears, no sorrow, no suffering, for in the Division, we shall see our release from the pain and hardships of this world."
 * "Yea, your suffering shall exist no longer; it shall be washed away in Atom's Glow, burned from you in the fire of his brilliance."
 * "Each of us shall give birth to a billion stars formed from the mass of our wretched and filthy bodies."
 * "Each of us shall be mother and father to a trillion civilizations."
 * "Each of us shall know peace, shall know an end to pain, and shall know Atom in his glory."
 * "I urge you, my friends – come, drink with me and pray ..."
 * "Glorious Atom, I give unto you these feeble bones. I present to your will this frail body."
 * "I beg of you to use me as your vessel, guide me to your brilliance, divide each particle and give relief to this rotten flesh."
 * "Cast the fragile form of this ephemeral body into new life in the forge of your Glow."
 * "Atom, come – bestow your presence on your unworthy servant."
 * "We stay true, until the Day of Division – until the dawn of your return to His humble world."

Behind the scenes
Confessor Cromwell is most likely a reference to The Prophet who appeared in Bethesda's previous game The Elder Scrolls IV's first main DLC, Knights Of The Nine. Both characters preach in front of a religious object (In The Prophet's case, the recently desecrated Chapel of Dibella, and for the Confessor, the unexploded bomb). The two characters also appear to use a similar 'preach' animation whilst spouting religious nonsense. Interestingly, The Prophet is voiced by Wes Johnson, the voice behind Fallout 3 characters such as Mr Burke and Fawkes.