The history of satanism
The worship of Satan, or the devil(velnias), the god of evil in
christianity, during the renaissance, witches(ragana), along with heretics,
were accused (kaltinami)of worshiping (garbinimas)the devil. Many
confessed(pripazista) to it, probably coerced [κ?υ??:σ] v (pri)versti by
torture. In popular lore(moksle), witches are still believed to have
worshiped the devil. (In modern neo-paganism and witchcraft(raganyste), or
wicca(burtai,kerai), as it is often called, there is no belief nor worship
of the devil.) Satanism has been far less common (daznai
paplites)throughout history than many would believe. The Inquisitors and
witch hunters of earlier centuries tried to persuade (itikinti)the populace
that devil worshipers were everywhere and posed (nustatyti,pastatyti)a
serious threat (gresme)to their well being. For about 250 years, from the
mid-15th century to the early 18th century, the height of the witch hunts,
that argument worked. It is possible that some devil worship may have
actually existed in those times, as an act of defiance(ignoravimas) among
those who opposed (lygina)the authority (valdžia)of the christian
church.Satanism as an organized activity did not exist much before the 17th
century. As early as the 17th century, however, the catholic
katalikiškas)church was condemning (pasmerkti)priests who subverted
(nuversti)the magical(magiskas) powers of the holy mass(sventos misios) for
evil(blogio) purposes.(tikslu) The Grimoire of Honorious, a magical
textbook first printed in the 17th century (but perhaps older), gave
instructions for saying masses(misias) to conjour (susijungti)[κ?ν?δ???ν]
demons. In the 17th century, satanic activities were conducted
(vadovaujamas)by christians who indulged(isitraukti,medautis)in the
magical/sexual rites(apeigos) of the black mass, presided (prizaid
vadovauti)over by defrocked(atimtu kunigyste) or unscrupulous(nesaziningas)
priests. The most notorious(zinomas) of these escapades(issisokimas) took
place in France during the reign(rein-karaliavimas) of Louis XIV,
engineered by the kings mistress, Madamme de Montespan, and led
(vadovavo)by an occultist(okeltizm okultizmas) named La Voisin and a 67
year old libertine (libertyn-laisvamanis)priest, the Abbé Guiborg.There is
no reliable evidence(požymiu) of satanic activity in the 18th century. In
England, the Hellfire club, a society founded by Sir Francis Dashwood (1708-
1781), has often been described as satanic, but in actuality it was little
more than a club for adolescent(edelnest-paauglys)-like men to
indule(isitraukti) in drinking, sexual play with woman called
„nuns“(vienuoles) and outrageous(siaubingas) behavior(elgesys). The
Hellfire club, or the „Medmenham monks“ as they called themselves, met
regularly between 1750 and 1762 in Dashwood’s home, Medmenham Abbey. The
members were said to conduct(vadovauti) black masses, but it is
doubtful(abejotinas) that these were serious satanic activities. Similar
groups were the brimstone(siera)boys and blue blazers(trumpasSvarkelis) of
Ireland.Perhaps the most famous Satanist in the 19th century was the Abbé
Boullan of France, who became the head of an offshoot(atsaka) of the church
of Carmel and allegedly(tariamai) practiced black magic and infant(kudikiu)
sacrifice(aukojimas). The church of Carmel was formed by Eugene Vintras,
the foreman (meistras)of a cardboard (karotono)box factory Tillysur-
Seulles. In 1839 Vintras said he received a letter from the archangel
Michael, followed by visions, of the archangel, the holy ghost, St.Joseph
and the virgin Mary. He was informed that he was the
reincarnated(ryinkarneit-persikuniti) prophet(pranasas) Elijah, and he was
to found a new religious order and proclaim(paskelbti) the coming of the
age of the holy(sventas) ghost. The true king of France, he was told, was
one Charles Naundorf.Vintras went about the countryside
preaching(sakytipamoksla) this news and acquiring(isigyti) followers,
including priests. Masses were celebrated that included visions of empty
chalices(tselis-taure) filled with blood stapins(deme) on the
Eucharist.(komunija) By 1848 the church of Carmel, as the movement was
known, was condemned(pasmerktasMirti) by the pope(popiezius). In 1851
Vintras was accused(kaltinamas) by a former disciple(sekėjas) of
conducting(vadovavimas) black masses in the nude(njud-nuoga), homosexuality
and masturbating while praying at the alter.Shortly before his death in
1875, Vintras befriended(draugiskas) Boullan, who formed a
splinter(skeveldra) group of the church of Carmel upon Vintras death. He
ran the group for 18 years, until his death, outwardly maintaining pious
practices but secretly conducting satanic rituals.Boullan seems to have
been obsessed(persekioti) with Satanism and evel since the age of 29, when
he took a nun (vienuole)named Adele Chevalier as his mistress. Chevalier
left her convent(vienuolynas), bore (nuobodus)two bastard (išpera)children
and founded with Boullan The Society for the Reparation of Souls. Boullan
specialized in exorcising (piktujuDvasiuIsvarymas)demons by
unconventional(nesuvarzytas) means, such as feeding possessed
(apimtas)viltims(aukos) a mixture of human excrement and the Eucharist. He
also performed(ivykdyti)black masses. On January 8, 1860, he had Chevalier
reportedly conducted a black mass in which they sacrificed one of their
children.By the time Boullan met
Vintras, Boullan was claiming to be the
reincarnated (persikunyti)St.John the Baptist. He taught his followers
sexual techniques and said the original sin(nuodėme) of Adam and Eve could
be redeemed(išpirkti) by sex with incubi (veisti)and succubi. he and his
followers were said to copulate(poruotis) with the spirits of the dead,
including Anthony the great.Boullan’s group was infiltrated (iflirtuoti)by
two Rosicrucians, Oswald Wirth and Stanislasde Guaita, who wrote an
exposé,(atidengti) The Temple of Satan. Boullan and de Guaita
supposedly(manoma) engaged(manomas) in magical warfare. Boullan and his
friend, the novelist J.K. Huysmans, claimed to be attacked by demons. When