CHURCH OF SATAN (COS) 1930 - Anton Szandor LaVey was born Howard Stanton Levey in Chicago, Illinois. 1951 - LaVey married fifteen year-old Carole Lansing. The couple had two children and lived in a home owned by La Vey's parents. 1960 - LaVey divorced Carole Lansing and formed a 25-year relationship with Diane Hegarty. The couple gave birth to Zeena Galatea La Vey. 1966 - Anton LaVey founded the Church of Satan (COS) in San Francisco, California. He shaved his head, donned a hooded black robe, and pronounced himself the High Priest of the COS and the "Black Pope." He proclaimed 1966 to be the first year of the Age of Satan (Anno Satanas). He painted his parents' house black and purple, and it became known as the "Black House." It became the headquarters of COS. LaVey and underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger organized the Magic Circle, an occult discussion group, and a topless nightclub act called the "Witches Sabbath," with strippers dressed as witches and vampires, where he promoted his philosophy. 1967 - The Church of Satan performed a satanic wedding ceremony, setting off a flurry of media coverage. He also began performing baptisms and funerals. 1969 - LaVey published the Satanic Bible, outlining the principles of LaVeyan Satanism. 1975 - Michael Aquino, a COS leader, left the church to found the Temple of Set. 1970s – Interest in Satanism declined and LaVey withdrew from public view. 1997 - Anton LaVey died as a result of a pulmonary edema, and Blanche Barton became the Church of Satan's High Priestess. 2001 - Peter Gilmore became High Priest of Church of Satan after Barton stepped down. 2002 - Peggy Nadramia became High Priestess of Church of Satan. 2006 - The Church of Satan held its first public Satanic Mass in 40 years (06/06/06). MYTH Satanism has assumed a variety of forms, real and imagined, through human history. In colonial America, there was a period of witchcraft allegations and witch hunting, most notably in Salem, Massachusetts. Through American history conservative Christian groups have taught that Satan is an active, personal presence in human affairs. Satan's presence explains evil and misfortune, identifies heretical faiths, and bolsters Christian solidarity. Contemporary Satanism can be divided into three versions: reactive esoteric, and rational. LaVey's philosophy is contained in a number of books: Principles of LaVeyan Satanism COS Philosophy is clearly expressed in its "Nine Satanic Statements" (LaVey 1969:25). ● Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence! LaVey also compiled a list of "Nine Satanic Sins" (e.g., stupidity, pretentiousness, self-deceit, drug use, consumerism) and "Eleven Satanic Rules of Earth" (e.g., no harming children, killing non-human animals, attacking others unless assaulted first). Early in COS history the "Black Mass" (a parody of the Roman Catholic Mass) was performed as a means of expressing opposition to Christianity and other institutionalized religion. It was a psychodrama through which blasphemies could be expressed cathartically. Symbols included hooded robes; an inverted crucifix; a nude woman used as an altar; baptisms, weddings, and funerals with satanic content. LEADERSHIP/ORGANIZATION LaVey and his followers crafted an elaborate, but later discredited, hagiography A string of celebrities, including Jayne Mansfield, Sammy Davis Jr., King Diamond and Marilyn Manson were linked to COS. LaVey initially organized the church into local units, grottoes, which were controlled directly by the church. At the height of the church's popularity there were grottos in many major cities in the U.S. COS subsequently became a decentralized organization with two categories of members. "First-level" members simply pay fill out a registration card and pay a fee. The five levels of Active Membership are available only by invitation. The top three degrees constitute the priesthood and are addressed as either Reverend or "Magister/Magistra" and "Magus/Maga." Most members have little contact with grottoes. Grottoes are independent and self-supporting. COS never made LaVey wealthy or even supported him. By the mid-1970s he lived at a near poverty level and relied on generosity of family and supporters. He lost ownership of the Black House, which was demolished in 2001. When membership and public interest in the Church of Satan declined in the 1970s, LaVey withdrew from public view. Following LaVey's death in 1997, Blanche Barton assumed leadership of COS and moved it to New York City. There were several other leaders after 2001. Peggy Nadramia became the High Priestess in 2002.
Christian churches openly condemn COS, which charges them with suppressing humanity's naturally physical, animal nature and appetites by labeling them as sinful. COS also calls for the strict taxation of donations to all churches. COS's "anti-theology" espouses rebellion to all authority that limits the expression of individual autonomy and authenticity. Individuals should freely indulge their mental, emotional, and physical qualities. Representing an "Alien Elite, COS endorses the survival of the fittest and overcoming the weak; it opposes universal human rights and equality. Virtually all of the details in LaVey's hagiography have been challenged (Gypsy ancestry, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, official city organist, lion tamer in the Clyde Beatty Circus, affair with Marilyn Monroe, studied Criminology at San Francisco City College, worked with the San Francisco Police Department, involved in the production of Rosemary's Baby) COS experienced numerous schisms through its history. Zeena LaVey Schreck formed the Sethian Liberation Movement and Karla LaVey established the First Satanic Church. The most important challenge came from Michael Aquino, who founded the Temple of Set in 1975. Aquino teaches that there is a living satanic deity, Set. During the 1980s COS was swept up in a wave of satanic subversion fear that swept across North America and Europe, centering around claims of the existence a massive, international, underground, hierarchically organized satanic network. The public face of Satanism was “organized satanists,” consisting of the satanic churches, which publicly engaged in the worship of Satan.
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