Faustus Blackwood

Father Faustus Blackwood is a main character on Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is portrayed by Richard Coyle.

He is the High Priest of the Church of Night and the Dean of the Academy of Unseen Arts.

Character Description
A High Priest of the Church of Night who becomes an “oppressive authority figure in Sabrina’s dark education.”

Early Life
Faustus Blackwood is an old-fashioned warlock who was an evil mentor of Edward Spellman before the latter surpassed him and became High Priest of the Church of Night. Following Edward's death, Faustus took over the throne as the embodiment of Satan's will on earth, restoring some practices fallen into disuse or considered barbaric by Edward Spellman during his reign; for example, the Feast of Feasts. For several years Faustus tried to have children with his wife Constance, who sadly miscarried two of them. However, Blackwood fathered at least one illegitimate children like many other high priests before him.

Season 1
NOTE:CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Shake hands with the Devil


Father Blackwood paid to visit the Spellman Mortuary at the request of Zelda and Hilda, worried about their niece. Sitting by the fireplace, they are soon joined by Sabrina, who shows her reluctance towards the High Priest. Faustus is immediately impressed by the girl, telling Sabrina that she has no idea how she is special to have been chosen. Blackwood asks Sabrina if it is true that she is having doubts about her Dark Baptism and signing the Book of the Beast. This is inadmissible he says, and rhetorically asks what he can do to convince her.

Father Blackwood asks Sabrina about her doubts on the Dark Baptism. The girl says she is not really sure, then the priest goes on to explain the ceremony. The Dark Baptism is the most sacred unholy sacrament the witches practiced for centuries. Sabrina is worried that once she signs the Book of the Beast, she will give the Dark Lord dominion over her soul. Blackwood reassures her, saying that this is only one of several possible interpretations. Blackwood explains that all religions have symbolic gestures and demand sacrifices. Signing the Book of the Beast is more like a pledge to abide by the devil's commandments. Sabrina then claims that she is not an evil person, making both the priest and her aunts laugh because none of them is evil. Sabrina is still firm in her disbelief, stating that the Dark Lord is the embodiment of evil. Blackwood corrects her immediately, saying that He is the embodiment of free will and that he goes beyond the mere concepts of good and evil and the infernal punishment of the "False God".

Blackwood suggests to the aunts that Sabrina needs an immediate shift in thinking since she has been tainted by mortal ideology. Sabrina adds that she is worried about her boyfriend, that Blackwood deduces is a mortal. Intrinsically incompatible as mortals grow old and die faster than witches, he states. Sabrina replies that her father married a mortal woman and Blackwood specifies that he was High Priest and had obtained a special dispensation from the Dark Lord himself. Despite this, it was still considered a controversial union and Blackwood also denies Sabrina's concerning assumptions about the death of her parents. According to Blackwood, it was an unfortunate incident.



Sabrina has another question about a terrible vision she had after biting the "Malus Malum," but Blackwood replies that its use is wildly inaccurate. Father Blackwood extends the invitation to be baptized and joins the Academy of Unseen Arts where Sabrina can find answers to her many questions. And if she decides to leave, she will be free to choose. Before leaving, the priest makes sure that Sabrina will be in the forest the night of Samhain for her baptism. On his way out, Ambrose asks him to stay a little longer and shows him the corpse of Connor Kemper in the embalming room. The dead man has a witch's mark on his right arm. Blackwood immediately inquires about his parents and discovers that the boy had been adopted by mortal parents. Blackwood takes the opportunity to point out how a witch without coven ended up on a table at the mortuary. Ambrose is worried that there may be witch hunters, but for Blackwood is highly unlikely and leaves.



On Samhain night, Father Blackwood has assembled the witches of his unholy church in a clearing in the Greendale Wood and invites Sabrina to join them. After ordering Zelda and Hilda to disrobe her, the High Priest proceeds with the ceremony, invoking the spirits of the living and dead witches of their coven, the most unholy Church of Night. Father Blackwood orders Sabrina to kneel and traces an inverted cross on her forehead with blood, stating that the Dark Lord teaches that there is no law other than "Do what thou wilt". He asks Sabrina if she wishes to be free, to be what her nature intended her to be. After asking if Sabrina intends to renounce the Path of Light or embark in the Path of Night and put the needs of their Dark Lord, the archangel Lucifer who has given them free will, Father Blackwood invites Sabrina to sign the Book of the Beast. The High Priest cuts the palm of Sabrina's left hand with a dagger so that Sabrina signs with her blood. Father Blackwood guides Sabrina's hand, asking if she is determined to give soul, body, and spirit to Satan and to obey his orders revealing a more satanic truth than the reassurance he gave her during his last visit at her house. Sabrina pulls back and runs away. The High Priest orders the coven to get her.

Father Blackwood and the witches follow Sabrina to the borders of the Spellman Mortuary. Father Blackwood states that Sabrina must sign the Book until the Blood Moon is still shining in the sky. The eclipse is almost over and Sabrina refuses by saying that she is Sabrina Spellman, and she would not sign her name away. The High Priest is not at all satisfied and orders the Weird Sisters to get her. However, Ambrose steps in and says that there is a protective circle around the house. A ring that only Spellman witches can cross while other would be engulfed in fire. Mentioning such a spell caused their ambition to reclaim Sabrina after she fled her Dark Baptism to falter and Father Blackwood leaves with his witches.

The Devil's Advocate


At the Academy of Unseen Arts, Blackwood and Zelda talk about Sabrina's upcoming trial in Blackwood's office. Blackwood says he is not pleased to be the Dark Lord's prosecutor, but is one of his duties as a High Priest. Zelda tries to convince him with flattery and seduction that seem to work because Blackwood suggests she might come back later with Sabrina admitting her wrongdoings and begging for forgiveness because the Dark Lord is merciful, but he also demands total submission. Blackwood claims to already see the signs of old age on Zelda's face and after kissing her forehead, a lock of her hair remains awkwardly entangled in the Priest's fingers. As soon as Zelda comes out, Blackwood says he does not enjoy being watched. Madam Satan appears from the shadows, challenging Blackwood's authority. The demoness accuses Blackwood of having failed to baptize Sabrina after she lured her to the altar. Blackwood mocks her "womanly methods", claiming he'll be the hammer driving the nail in the hole. Madam Satan advises the Priest not to underestimate Sabrina and to remember that he is still a man and that she feasts on men's flesh.



At midnight at the unholy church, Father Blackwood welcomes his congregation in the sacrilegious Court to settle the Dark Lord's justice. Sabrina Spellman stands accused before the Infernal Three, horribly disfigured beings with black robes acting as judge, jury and executioner. Father Blackwood accuses Sabrina of being guilty of breaking her pledge to sign the Book of the Beast during her Dark Baptism. If Sabrina is found guilty, says Blackwood to the congregation, she will be forced to abandon her mortal life immediately and spend 333 years burning in the Pit of Hell upon her death. Before Sabrina can reply, Daniel Webster enters the Court, claiming that Sabrina pleads "not guilty". Father Blackwood says to Webster that is not welcome and wasn't invited, but Sabrina replies that he is her lawyer.



During the trial, Father Blackwood accuses Sabrina of failing in the promises made to the Dark Lord, comparing the Dark Baptism to a wedding where Sabrina arrived wearing precisely a wedding dress. Sabrina denies having been courted by the Dark Lord, or having promised him anything. Webster requires official proof attesting to the actual broken promise of the so-called marriage with the devil. The High Priest submits to the Infernal Three their most unholy grimoire, the Book of the Beast and invites Sabrina to read on the indicated page. Her name is written on the page, dated three days after her birth. Webster immediately accuses it to be forgery. Blackwood calls Zelda to the stand, where she reveals that she accompanied her brother, Edward Spellman into the Greendale Wood, where he laid baby Sabrina on an altar and signed the Book, thus promising Sabrina to the Dark Lord.



The following night, Webster leverages on Sabrina's dual nature as witch and mortal, claiming that Sabrina has a jury of mortals, rejecting the authority of the Court of Witches, angering Father Blackwood. The High Priest accepts the provocation. Sabrina will be judged as a witch or as a human according to the test's result used to detect a witch. The first option is Trial by Water. She would be bound and dropped into the river. If she floats, she's a witch. If she drowns, she's human and free to go. Webster deems the conditions to be unacceptable. Blackwood proposes a second option: Sabrina will be stripped in front of the court and examined for a Witch's Mark. If a mark is found on her body, the process will continue without interruption. If it is not found, the Court will be forced to accept her so-called humanity.

Later, Father Blackwood visits Spellman house. He apologizes for his unannounced visit, but he brings good news. He pleaded on Sabrina's behalf to the Dark Lord, and he offered a compromise. The Dark Lord will give up on punishing Sabrina if she will sign the Book of the Beast and attend the Academy. Zelda says it's the perfect solution, but Sabrina and Webster aren't convinced. Blackwood exits, leaving them to their decisions.



The night after, Sabrina agrees to be examined for a Witch's Mark, but Hilda interrupts the Court with proof that Sabrina can not be baptized in the Church of Night. Upon her birth, Hilda accompanied her sister-in-law, Diana Spellman, to the Holy Mother Church of Greendale where Sabrina was baptized a day before Edward signed the Book of the Beast promising Sabrina to Satan. Father Blackwood is enraged, but is forced to admit the invalidity of the inscription in the Book of the Beast. Father Blackwood declares that it's an outrageous attempt to sabotage the process, but Sabrina retorts that it's the Dark Lord's behavior to be outrageous. As soon as she says these words, a flaming hatch opens at the center of the court and Blackwood and Webster are summoned into the Court's Private Chambers.

Once the lawyers return from the private meeting, Father Blackwood ends the trial. Due to conflicting contracts, baptisms and breeding, the Hellbound Court declares that Sabrina shall retain her mortal life provided she attends the Academy as well as weekly Black Mass.

Back to his office, Blackwood and Madame Satan comment on the outcome of the trial. The High Priest is pleased to have been able to bring Sabrina to the Academy and once under his watch and authority, he will bend her to his will. Or will break her. Madam Satan disagrees with his brute force, and suggests using subtle ways to break her contacts with the mortal world. After all, breaking souls one piece at a time is her specialty.

Physical Appearance
Father Blackwood is a warlock with the appearance of a man in his forties. Tall and with a toned body, he has green eyes, black hair, and long nails that resemble claws. Blackwood wears Puritanical black clothes and always has with him a walking stick with the head of a rabbit carved on the handle. During the important ceremonies of the Church of Night, Father Blackwood wears witch regalia which is, in all respects, satanic clergy attire.

Personality
Faustus Blackwood is the traditionalist High Priest of the Church of Night and mentor of the late Edward Spellman, a progressive warlock and the most powerful conjurer produced by the coven. Blackwood is a machiavellian warlock with a strong satanic faith and a narrow-minded policy based on following by the book rules and traditions even when considered barbaric, as the cannibalistic Feast of Feasts restored as soon as he succeeded Edward Spellman in command of the coven. However, he's more than willing to bend those rules for personal gain.

Father Blackwood is a master manipulator. He knows exactly what nerves to touch to seduce and deceive young witches like Sabrina, promising false hopes and certainties disguised with a philosophy based on the principles of free will and self-empowerment. However, Madam Satan points out in one of their conversations that he is not as expert as he thinks, and that sometimes Blackwood is too reckless in resorting too blatantly to violence rather than subtle deception, like when he likened himself to a hammer nailing wayward witches like nails.

Father Blackwood believes in male supremacy and more than once argued with Madam Satan over the differences of the sexes and their associated alleged qualities and flaws. Despite this, Father Blackwood is extremely lustful and exploits the confessional of witches as an excuse to engage in BDSM sexual acts, in which he takes pleasure in inflicting and receiving pain as he did with Zelda, using her to reach Sabrina. One of his dreams has always been to have a male heir although he had at least one illegitimate child out of wedlock. For years, he and his wife, Lady Constance tried to have children, resulting in several miscarriages that cooled the passion between the two spouses, if ever there was love since Nick claims witches are unable to love.

Powers and Abilities

 * Spell Casting: The power to change and control events through the use of incantations, commands, or even gestures.
 * Summoning: The power to summon and teleport another witch from one location to another.
 * Telekinesis: The power to move things with the power of the mind.

Gallery

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Promotional Images

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Season 1 Screencaps

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