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The Standard September 14 to 20 2014 15
Satanists to hold black mass
The organisers will wear profane
costumes, use explicit language
and desecrate the fake host
A
devil-worshipping group hell-bent on
hosting a satanic black mass is planning
to go ahead with its controversial
ceremony this month, despite fervent
protests by residents of Oklahoma City
and a lawsuit from the Catholic Church.
The co-founder of Dakhma of Angra Mainyu
said that the religious and educational organisation
decided to hold the black mass in public but
it will be a “tamer” version than some traditional
satanic ceremonies by, for example, substituting
vinegar for acts involving urine to comply with
state health laws.
The upcoming event has generated controversy
because black masses mock Christianity and the
rituals that make up their services but organisers
see it as an integral part of their religion.
“One of the dictates of the church is not only to
educate the members but to educate the public,”
Dakhma of Angra Mainyu’s Adam Daniels said,
“and to debunk the Hollywood-projected image of
our beliefs.”
Daniels said all 88 tickets to the September 21
event — held at the theatre in the city’s civic centre
— have been sold. The parks and recreation department,
which rented the space to the group for
US$420, cited First Amendment protections in allowing
the group to meet in a public facility.
“Daniels must abide by our local ordinances,
our fire codes and all of our state laws,” Parks
and Recreation spokeswoman Jennifer Lindsey-
McClintock said. “No blood-letting of any kind
will be allowed.”
A US$17,50 ticket buys participants a frontrow
seat to the festivities, which include a performance
from the band God in a Machine and readings
that call for the renunciation of God. Male
participants and audience members are encouraged
to wear black, hooded, full-length robes, but
evening wear is also appropriate for spectators.
Anthony Briggman, an assistant professor
of theology at Emory University in Atlanta, explained
that the general motivating principles behind
satanic groups — including Dakhma of Angra
Mainyu — is to “parody” Roman Catholic liturgy
by “demonstrating their opposition to orthodox
Christian beliefs and practices.”
“The line between parody and mockery is a
fuzzy one and it is unclear to me on which side
of the line they usually fall,” he said of satanic
groups in general.
“The goal seems to be to acquire some of the
spiritual power [and] magic that they associate
with the Roman Catholic ritual of transubstantiation,
the transformation of the Eucharistic bread
and wine into the body and blood of Christ,” Briggman
said.
Co-founder Daniels said the September 21 ceremony
will take place before an altar-like table
where a woman in lingerie lies (another concession
to reflect the state’s nudity laws).
The culmination of the event comes when the
Dakhma of Angra Mainyu deacons and priest
stomp on the, in this case, unconsecrated host
and spit on it. Daniels said organisers will wear
profane costumes, use explicit language and desecrate
the fake host, which Catholics believe is a
form of the resurrected Christ.
Professor Briggman said that in other instances,
he has “heard the reports of ritualistic practices
of sex, blood-letting, and sacrifice . . . but it is
unclear to me how much these reports are hyperbole
designed to capture the attention of the press
and public.”
Daniels said the Oklahoma City ceremony will
wrap up with a Satanic exorcism intended to draw
the Holy Spirit from the follower’s body, which
contrasts with traditional exorcisms that are designed
to expel the devil from the individual.
“Our practices have gotten it to about 22 to 25
minutes,” Daniels said of the ritual.
Additional controversy has surrounded this
particular event because the Oklahoma City Archdiocese
filed a lawsuit against Daniels’ group after
media reports that he was in possession of a
consecrated host, a wafer that some Catholics believe
is literally the body of Christ.
The host in question has since been handed
over to the archdiocese and the legal action has
been stopped, but that has not put all of the Archbishop’s
concerns to rest.
“I remain concerned about the dark powers that
this satanic worship invites into our community
and the spiritual danger that this poses to all who
are involved in it, directly or indirectly,” Archbishop
Paul Coakley said in a statement.
The group is separate from The Satanic Temple,
a national group with similar beliefs that has
long fought with Oklahoma City officials about
the right to have a statue of the devil placed prominently
in the Oklahoma State Capitol.
Lucien Greaves, the leader of The Satanic Temple,
said Dakhma of Angra Mainyu may be timing
its black mass in order to coincide with the publicity
drummed up by The Satanic Temple’s legal
battle for the devil statue.
“I have a feeling that they’re rather inspired
by the attention that our activity has gotten,”
Greaves said, “but I don’t think there’s a particularly
higher concentration in Oklahoma than anywhere
else.” — ABC News
Satan statue