“Hail Satan?”- a response
My fellow UK Satanists and I appear in two short clips in the documentary, showing us conducting a meeting and a ritual in London. The cut it shows, directly from the initial modelling and construction of the Baphomet monument, to us, suggests that we were, and, as far as the viewer is concerned, still are, part of TST. However, by the time Penny Lane and her crew came to film us in September 2018, we had broken off from them and were in the process of forming our own Satanic organisation instead (more about this later).

On the evening the filming took place, our meeting was recorded, as well as our ritual, some of our members were asked questions, and our two chapter heads, Zeke Apollyon and Cain Abaddon, were interviewed at length about our chapter’s participation with TST, as well as the reasons why we had parted ways, and our plans for the new direction. Sadly, the interviews were cut and all that was shown were two short clips that omitted any reference to our split. As well as this, one of our fellow European chapters, Sweden, only merited a very short clip, showing them standing in a circle, conducting a ritual, and any quotes or interviews with them were also omitted.

A bit later in the documentary, after showing the great work that the Santa Cruz chapter of TST have done on beach cleaning, a map is shown with pins across the whole of Europe, and other spots across the world (image provided below). Over this map, the narration describes the expansive growth of TST, and the formation of a National Council (which we will talk about later). The map itself is somewhat confusing as to whether it indicates actual chapters or interested parties, especially since they are using the same pins as they used to describe the initial chapters earlier in the film. I’ve asked a number of people who have been to see the documentary, who have no background knowledge of the situation, and they have often assumed that chapters are indicated by this map.

A screenshot from Hail Satan? (Magnolia Pictures 2019), showing the map of pins of indicated interest in TST, or its supposed chapters through the world (original map created in OpenStreetMap).

From conversations with fellow Satanists in countries around Europe, at the time of filming, it is my understanding that TST had one established chapter in London, one chapter in Italy getting ready to be established, and all other chapters were at the ‘Friends of TST’ status, having not been formally set up yet. From the map above, there are a number of pins in places that have never had a chapter. Even if this is meant to merely represent the level of interest, rather than the chapters themselves, it’s firstly too ambiguous, and, secondly, certainly does not represent the situation today.

From The Satanic Temple, to The Global Order of Satan

Previous to the filming of the documentary, my chapter in London had been an officially recognised part of TST. We had been around for a few years, and I myself had joined about a year before. At the beginning of 2018, we began to experience some issues with communications from TST’s National Council, and, after an incident where the Kreuzpflicht project was carried out without the National Council’s permission, one of our chapter heads was thrown out of TST entirely. It was at this point that the rest of us were given a choice, either carry on with TST, or go our own way.

Thanks to the bravery and quick thinking of our chapter heads, along with the help of other chapters in Sweden, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Israel, we decided to set up an organisation that would later be called The Global Order of Satan. The intent behind this was to create a Satanic organisation that would consist of chapters across national boundaries, covering countries outside the United States, tackling the problem of oppression by religious majorities, while still respecting the political and social situations for each country that we live in. We maintain unity with a central Council of Chapter leaders, who ensure that decisions are made together and consensually, thereby maintaining the careful balance of unity and autonomy of everyone involved. We are a growing Satanic organisation across Europe, and beyond, and welcome those who understand non-theistic Satanism, and are willing to respect our Six Pillars.
['Andy Diabolus']
['Documentary', 'Satanism', 'The Satanic Temple', 'The Global Order Of Satan', 'Religion']