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The start of a cult
The church of Satan was founded by a man named Szandor LaVey in 1966. The church of Satan is known as the primary founding pillar of satanism. The church of Satan started in San Francisco, California. During it's creation they had a heyday for several years after it's founding and the satanic bible sold nearly 1 million copies. -
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The Early Years
During the early years of the satanic church's founding there have been many notable events such as the publicly performed satanic marriage in 1967, the documentary known as 'Satanis' in 1970, and the numerous public appearances like articles, podcasts, tv shows, etc on satanism. Everyone wanted to know about satanism. Satanism did try expanding with Maarten Lamers of the Netherlands who read The Satanic Bible and in 1971 flew to San Francisco to meet LaVey. In 1974 LaVey ended regional churches -
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"Satanic Panic" Period
During the "satanic panic" period the satanic church was going through a crisis. The media reported concerns of criminal conspiracies by the Church of Satan, LaVey underwent a period of complete silence and in 1985 LaVey sent his daughter zeena to represent the CoS. On May 23, 1967, LaVey did the first satanic baptism on his three year old daughter. Anton Szandor LaVey died on October 29, 1997. -
6/6/06 High Mass
On June 6, 2006, the Church of Satan held the first public ritual Satanic Mass in 40 years at the Steve Allen Theater in the Center for Inquiry in Los Angeles. The date corresponds to the number of the Beast, 666, from the biblical Book of Revelation. -
Realm of Satan Documentary
In January 2024, the film Realm of Satan was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is similar to a documentary, though it consists primarily of scenes staged with members of the Church of Satan. One reviewer described it as "an 80-minute art installation in which Satanists are rendered—and deliberately render themselves—performative characters in a diabolical play of their own making."