Church of Azazel > Structure > Membership



Below is a draft of a membership structure for the Church of Azazel. As of June 2011, we will probably implement it piecemeal over the next several years. Comments are welcome from all.



Church of Azazel
Membership structure



Copyright © 2011 by the Church of Azazel. All rights reserved.



The Church of Azazel has two main categories of membership:  Local membership and Internet membership. A local member attends a local congregation, whereas an Internet member participates mainly in our Internet congregation.

At the present time, a local proto-congregation is forming only in New York City. If you live elsewhere, your only option is to join our Internet congregation.

Local congregations in other places may be formed only by people who have attained the rank of Core Member either as Internet members or as local members of a previously-existing congregation before moving to another location. Other people may form local groups allied with the Church of Azazel, but not congregations of the Church of Azazel itself.

Both the New York congregation and the Internet congregation are now informal. As we grow, we will gradually implement the membership structure defined below, or something similar. As of September 2011, the following membership structure is now tentative and likely to be refined over the next few years.

Both the local and Internet congregations will have the following levels of membership:

  1. Prospective Members

  2. Semi-Basic members, of the followimg kinds, based on level of participation:

    1. Associate Members
    2. Basic Members Emeritus

  3. Basic members, of the followimg kinds, based on level of participation:

    1. Honorary Basic Members
    2. Active Basic Members
    3. Prospective core members

  4. Semi-Core Members, of the following kinds, based on level of participation:

    1. Associate Core Members
    2. Core Members Emeritus

  5. Core Members, of the following kinds, based on level of participation:

    1. Honorary Core Members
    2. Active Core Members
    3. Leading Core Membesr
    4. Prospective Clergy

  6. Clergy, i.e. priest(esse)s. We don't currently have formal clergy, but probably will eventually. Any sub-levels or other subcategories will be defined then.

Our membership ranking is not a degree system of the kind found in many occult orders. We do not presume to measure a person's inner spiritual progress on some linear scale. Instead, our membership ranking is based solely on (1) a member's level of participation, both currently and in the past, and (2) the acquisition of various kinds of knowledge relevant to the Church of Azazel's paradigm and goals.

There is some crossover between local participation and Internet participation, especially at the higher ranks. Prospective Core Members will be expected to get to know Leading Core Members in other congregations besides their own.

The Church of Azazel does not currently have a formal priesthood, though we probably will at some point in the future.

Our levels of membership are detailed below:

  1. Prospective Member:  A person who has expressed interest in being a member, and who is in process of getting to know us before being accepted as a Basic Member.

    2. To be considered for membership in the local proto-congregation congregation in New York City, a Prospective Member should, if possible, attend a total of eight meetings including (1) at least two meetings of the Church of Azazel proto-congregation itself itself, (2) at least two meetings of NYC Satanists, Luciferians, Dark Pagans, and Left-Hand Path occultists, and (3) at least two meetings of New Yorkers Against Religion-Based Bigotry.

    To be considered for membership in the Internet congregation, a Prospective Member must first participate in some of Diane Vera's Facebook pages and groups, including at least one of the groups Watching Satan's avowed enemies and Counter-Evangelism, as well as at least one of the pages or groups devoted more specifically to Satanism. A Prospective Member must then, also, participate publicly on the Internet in some way, either via the Theistic Satanism blog network or via some relevant public Internet forum (such as the Meetup message board of the Church of Azazel proto-congregation, New York City, the Meetup message board of the NYC Satanists discussion group (NYC Satanists, Luciferians, Dark Pagans, and Left Hand Path Occultists), or the Meetup message board of New Yorkers Against Religion-Based Bigotry)

    Each congregation, including both each local congregation and the Internet congregation, will appoint its own membership committee to evaluate Prospective Members. The membership committee should include all the full Core members of the congregation, but may also include Prospective Core Members as well.

  2. Semi-Basic Member:  A person who has been accepted as a Basic Member of a Church of Azazel congregation or proto-congregation, but is not participating enough (either in the Church of Azazel itself or some allied group) to be considered a current Basic Member.

    3. Semi-Basic Members are of two kinds: A Basic Member Emeritus is a Semi-Basic Member who has satisfied the requirements of being a full Basic Member for at least a year, and who has subsequently become less active, but who continues to participate occasionally. (Exact requirements to be defined later.) An Associate Member is a Semi-Basic Member who does not satify the requirements of being a Basic Member Emeritus.

    Semi-Basic Members are welcome to resume full Basic Member status whenever they choose.

  3. Basic Member:  A person who has been accepted as a Basic Member and is currently satisfying the participation requirements of at least one of the levels of full Basic Membership:

    1. Honorary Basic Member:  A person who does not necessarily satisfy the participation requirements of being a full Active Basic Member, but who compensates for this via stronger participation in one or more allied groups or projects.

    2. Active Basic Member:  A person who participates regularly, both in group rituals and in our highly individualized program of religious education, which will be tailored to each individual's religious background, general educational background, and needs.

      3. Our religious education program includes the following topics:

      • The beliefs and practices of the Church of Azazel itself.

      • Exposure to, and in some cases immersion in, a variety of other religions and occult systems.

      • History of religion, mythology, and occultism.

      • Counterarguments against the traditional theological beliefs of the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity.

      • Philosophy, in the sense of the art of thinking in general. Includes informal logic and debate skills.

      • Communication skills aimed at helping to prevent and/or resolve potential conflicts among members.

      • Sociopolitical issues such as anti-Satanist panics, the growth of fanatical forms of the Abrahamic religions, and trends toward theocracy, all of which we oppose.

      Our religious education program will include a lot of semi-independent study, plus participation in relevant group discussions. Members can expect some one-on-one guidance, but should not expect to be spoon-fed. Specifics will be negotiated with one's mentor, who may be either a full Core Member or a relatively advanced Prospective Core Member.

      In a local congregation or proto-congregation, Active Basic Members will be expected to participate in both rituals and discussions, and will be expected to attend meetings not only of their local Church of Azazel congregation or proto-congregation itself, but also a few allied groups deemed relevant to the religious education of Church of Azazel members. Such groups will typically include (1) a group for law-abiding Satanists of all kinds, (2) a group for devotees of one of our five Rising Gods, and (3) either (a) a counter-evangelism group or (b) an activist group for church-state separation and/or against religion-based bigotry, and (3) a spiritual group for devotees of one of our five Rising Gods.

      The Internet congregation will not perform group rituals, but will perform coordinated solo rituals, i.e. rituals which are performed solo by each member at some agreed-upon common time. The rituals will be discussed before and afterward in the Internet congregation's private Facebook group. Active Basic Members of the Church of Azazel's Internet congregation will be expected to participate not only in the Church of Azazel's own Facebook group, but also in at least a few other relevant Facebook groups and/or pages, with larger target audiences, whose topics are relevant to the Church of Azazel paradigm, similar to the groups that local Church of Azazel members are expected to participate in.

      Regarding the allied groups for devotees of our five Rising Gods, one such group for each rising God, Active Basic Members of both the local Church of Azazel groups and the Internet congregation will be expected to participate in at least one of these allied spiritual groups, depending on which one of the five Rising Gods the individual member feels the greatest affinity for. If not all five such groups exist yet, Active Basic Members will be expected to participate in one of the groups that already exist. These groups will be created in the following order: (1) a group for Lilith devotees, (2) a group for Prometheus devotees, (3) a group for Ishtar devotees, (4) a group for Pan devotees, and (5) a group for Lucifer-of-Sophia devotees.

    3. Prospective Core Member:  Prospective Core Members are members who satisfy all the participation requirements of Active Basic Members and who are also more active in furthering the goals of the Church of Azazel's allied groups.

      4. Prospective Core Members are expected to participate actively in counter-evangelism projects and/or in some form of activism on one or more issues in opposition to the religious right wing. (Such issues include the rights of religious minorities, women't rights, GLBT rights, and opposing anti-Satanist panics, among others.)

      Prospective Core Members are also expected to spend at least a limited amount of time with all five of the groups devoted to our Rising Gods, one or two at a time, in sequence, as follows:

      • If a prospective core member participates regularly in the allied spiritual groups one at a time, then the preferred order would be: (1) the Lilith group, (2) the Prometheus group; (3) the Ishtar group, (4) the the Pan group, and then (5) the Lucifer-of-Sophia group. If the total length of time one spends with each group is a least one year, then this cycle would take at least five years.

      • If a prospective core member participates regularly in the allied spiritual groups two at a time, then the preferred order would be: (1) just the Lilith group plus the group for whichever other rising God the person feels the greatest affinity for, if any; (2) the Lilith group plus the Prometheus group; (3) the Prometheus group plus the Ishtar group; (4) the Ishtar group plus the Pan group; (5) the Pan group plus the Lucifer-of-Sophia group; (6) the Lucifer-of-Sophia group plus the group for whichever rising God one feels the greatest affinity for. If the total length of time one spends with each group is a least one year, then this cycle would take at least three years.

      Before the Church of Azazel itself and all five allied groups are fully off the ground as organizations, Prospective Core Members will be expected to participate, as described above, in those allied groups that already exist, and also help in launching the groups that don't yet exist.

      In the Church of Azazel's Internet congregation, Prospective Core Members will also expected to work, in some way, to advance the Internet visibility of the more intelligent and articulate forms of theistic Satanism. In most cases, this will include participation in the Theistic Satanism Blog Network.

      Prospective Core Members will be considered for full Core Membership after a minimum of three to five years, depending on (1) the intensity of their participation as Prospective Core Members and (2) their level of knowledge of various relevant topics.

      Candidates for full Core Membership will be evaluated by a membership committee representing not just one's own congregation, but the entire Church of Azazel. All of the Church of Azazel's Leading Core Members (and Clergy) are eligible to be members of this committee. Hence, Prospective Core Members should participate in activities that will naturally bring them into contact with other Leading Core Members besides just those in their own congregation.

  4. Semi-Core Member:  A person who has been accepted as a Basic Member of a Church of Azazel congregation or proto-congregation, but is not participating enough (either in the Church of Azazel itself or some allied group) to be considered a current Core Member.

    5. Semi-Core Members are of two kinds: A Core Member Emeritus is a Semi-Core Member who has satisfied the requirements of being a full Core Member for at least a year, and who has subsequently become less active, but who continues to participate occasionally. (Exact requirements to be defined later.) An Associate Core Member is a Semi-Core Member who does not satify the requirements of being a Core Member Emeritus.

    Semi-Core Members are welcome to resume full Core Member status whenever they choose.

  5. Core Member:  A person who has been accepted as a Core Member and is currently satisfying the participation requirements of at least one of the levels of full Core Membership.

    In any Church of Azazel congregation or proto-congregation, the ultimate decision-making authority will be a council consisting of all its Core members.

    In the Church of Azazel as a whole, the supreme decision-making authority will be a council consisting of all the Core Members of all congregations, with most decision-making authority delegated to a council consisting solely of Leading Core Members (and Clergy). (The latter council can, in turn, delegate minor routine decision-making authority as it sees fit.)

    A local Church of Azazel group, to qualify as a full "congregation," must have at least four people who have been accepted as Core Members, including at three full Core Members, among its members. Otherwise it is a "proto-congregation," which is required to have at least one current full Core Member.

    The levels of full Core Membership are:

    1. Honorary Core Member:  A person who does not necessarily satisfy the participation requirements of being a full Active Core Member, but who compensates for this via very strong participation in one or more allied groups or projects.

    2. Active Core Member:  A person who has been accepted as a full Core Member and participates regularly, but only at the same degree of participation expected of an Active Basic Member, both in group rituals and in discussions, and in continuing to educate oneself about various topics relevant to the Church of Azazel paradigm.

    3. Leading Core Member:  A full Core Member who continues to participate a the same level of intensity expected of Prospective Core Members, or who has returned to that level of participation after a hiatus. Leading Core Members will also be expected to act as mentors to Active Basic Members and Prospective Core Members. Most decisions for the Church of Azazel as a whole will be made by a council consisting of all the Leading Core Members (plus Clergy).

    4. Prospective Clergy:  A full Core Member who participates in our clergy-training program, once the Church of Azazel has decided on such a program. Most likely the requirements will include some relevant academic study.

  6. Clergy:  The Church of Azazel does not currently have a formal priesthood, though we probably will eventually. Our exact requirements will be decided later, but will be more academically rigorous than those of any other Satanist group we are aware of. Most likely we will have different kinds of clergy, with different roles.



Back to: