6-6-06: The Satanic High Mass

On June 6, 2006 C.E. we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Church of Satan at the Center for Inquiry West’s Steve Allen Theatre in Los Angeles. The first Satanic High Mass was performed, inspired by the rituals of our founder, Anton Szandor LaVey. The rite included workings for compassion, the prime celebrant and bestower of campassion being Reverend Bryan Moore, lust evoked by Priestess Heather Saenz - assisted by the Reverends Entity, and destruction summoned by Magister Diabolus Rex - with a special condemnation of fanatical theism proclaimed by Magister Robert Lang. Each celebrant accepted formal requests by three congregants, nine in total. The ritual was capped by a benediction upon the congregation by Magus Peter H. Gilmore, High Priest. Heightening the emotions was the live score by LUSTMORD, available as an album titled Lustmord Rising (). Over 100 members of the Church of Satan coming from around the globe filled the theatre to capacity. These passionate people were part of the proceedings which were inspired by the film THE BLACK CAT starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff who played a brilliant modern architect and High Priest of Satan. The film depicted the Satanists as being wealthy and powerful and they arrived to celebrate the Rites of Lucifer dressed in formal evening attire. Their chamber was expressionistic, wrought with angled crystals. And so we conjured a similar decor, though the lighting was inspired by the works of Mario Bava. To complete this total environment, attendees were enjoined to dress formally, just as was done in the film, and our members rose to the occasion by donning colorful personalized attire, their sartorial splendor proper for the aristocracy of the outstanding that comprises our membership. An inside joke from the film was that the Latin words sonorously intoned by Karloff were in fact taken from an ancient botany text. Reverend Moore, in superb mimicry, speaks this text as a further nod to that most effective movie. And we filmed these proceedings, which were introduced with warmth and humor by our High Priestess, Magistra Peggy Nadramia. For the first time we now make the film available for public viewing, to mark this Halloween night over four years after that fateful gathering. We have removed the nine formal requests to honor the privacy of those who made them, and the film begins after Magistra Nadramia’s speech.