-
The Founding
On this day, Anton LaVey reformed the Order of the Trapezoid into the Church of Satan (conveniently occurring during Walpurgisnacht) -
First Satanic Funeral
LaVey was approached by a woman who wished to bury her husband. Both of them were members of the CoS, and she (Pat Olsen) believed that her late husband (Edward Olsen) would have wanted to be buried by the Church. -
The First Unholy Matrimony
John Raymond and Judith Case become united under Satan's name. This led to "more reporters and photographers than any event since the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge crowding the Black House to witness this supreme blasphemy" (Church of Satan). -
First Satanic Baptism
On this day, Anton LeVay performed the first ever "Satanic Baptism", during which his three-year-old daughter, Zeena was subject to many pleasurable sensations, rather than getting dunked into water. This event, like many other CoS gatherings, was frowned upon by much of the public and resulted in lot of media coverage. -
Period: to
First International CoS Grotto
Maarten Lamers wished to establish the Church of Satan in the Netherlands. He was successful for a time, but eventually the location was shut down due to criminal ties/activities. -
Period: to
The Fall of LaVey
Over time, LaVey became less and less involved with maintaining/running the Church. He became radio silent for along time. He remained silent even when the CoS was suspected of ritual child abuse. Eventually, some of the Church's leaders left the organization, leaving it fractured. From that point on, LaVey lost more and more things until he was eventually forced to sell the Black House (the first ever Church location) to recover from his financial losses. This era lasted until his death in 1997 -
Period: to
The Founder/High Priest's Death
Anton LeVay passed due to pulmonary edema. However, despite his family's claims, the exact date of his death is disputed. His family claimed that he passed on October 29, 1997, but his official death certificate puts the date at October 31, 1997. -
Period: to
A Rebirth
After ownership was ceded to Peter Gilmore, the Church saw a level of unification that had not been seen for decades. The Church still exists and has had a large increase in membership over the past two decades - likely thanks to the new era brought by Gilmore. -
6/6/6 Celebration
The Church had its first official gathering in four decades on June 6, 2006, due to the date being 666. There was a gathering of over 100 members of the Church, and was an invitation-only gathering. However, members were still permitted to speak to any reporters in regards to the happenings of the event.