Satanic Church closed to public to protect high-profile worshipers, says co-founder | News24

South African Satanic Church founders Riaan Swiegelaar and Adri Norton clear up misconceptions on a Facebook broadcast, from their page on Tuesday June 23, 2020

• The Satanic Church wants to protect the identities of its congregation.
• Satanists promise to protect their members as if they were “family”.
• Members of the public will be permitted to visit Satanic weddings – or Satanic bible study.

Members of the public, who are not members, will not be permitted into the South African Satanic Church to protect the identity of TV personalities and leading businessmen who are practicing Satanists.

So said its co-founder, Riaan Swiegelaar, on Monday night when he and fellow co-founder Adri Norton were interviewed on Open View’s eNews and Sport channel. 

Swiegelaar said his congregation did not believe in “the devil” or “Satan”.

A debate on social media flared up following the interview, despite the church having opened in Century City, Cape Town, in February.

Misconceptions 

On Tuesday night, the pair took to Facebook to “clear up misconceptions” which they had encountered online.

Some members of the public asked if they could attend a service, to which Swiegelaar said: “We look after our members as if it were are family. Please understand that many of us, many Satanists, are not that accepted by their families. Therefore, we have become like a family.

“I personally would protect my family at all times. We have very well-known personalities, people who are on TV daily, in our congregation … as well as prominent businessmen. 

“So, to protect their identity, we’re certainly not going to allow members of the public to come to satanic rituals.”

The couple said there were certain “rites of passage” – such as satanic weddings, satanic naming ceremonies, and more – which members of their congregation might wish to invite family, and were welcome to do so.

There was also Satanic “Bible study”, which members of the public could try remotely.

“You will immediately know if you are a Satanist or not,” Swiegelaar promised.

Registration

Norton said she was against members of the public participating in satanic rituals without the proper induction into the religion – and participating in activities such as “chanting affirmations”, sometimes with drums – could be “very emotional” if members of the public came in cold.

The church hit the news when it was ostensibly “registered”. On its website, it states itself as a not-for-profit company.

Among its “9 Satanic Statements” are: “Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence [although it does not say in what]; Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek and Satan is the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years.”

But Swiegelaar was clear: “We do not believe in the devil, or Satan, as an external deity or a being. We revere Satan as an archetype, as a symbol for pride, for joy, for the carnal nature of humanity.”

The response on Twitter varied between those who leapt into action, to oppose the Satanists with all their might, like:

And those who yawned off the brouhaha:

The church’s founders reminded the public it also practiced safe Covid-19 rituals – and were not open to large crowds of congregants under Level 3.