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Can you not feel it, Prudence? The Dark Lord dethroned, the pits of the abyss unmanned. The old ones are returning to claim the Earth. And then... the eldritch terrors. Return to me the egg, and we'll bear witness to the birth of the unspeakable.
— Faustus to Prudence & Ambrose[src]


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

He is the widower of Constance Blackwood, ex-husband of Zelda Spellman, and father of Judith, Judas, and Prudence Blackwood. He is the former High Priest of the Church of Night, fleeing after refusing the Dark Lord's order of bowing down to Sabrina Spellman and poisoning the entire coven.

After abandoning Satanic teachings, Faustus devotes himself to the Eldritch Terrors in his desire for revenge and power. Having met the requisites, Faustus summons the Old Ones in the Greendale Woods, bringing the beginning of the end.

Under the alias of Father Lovecraft, Faustus led the Pilgrims of the Night Church and was a priest and servant of the Eldritch Terrors. Since he could not be killed due to Cain's mark, Prudence beheaded him and tortured his body for information. Eventually, he regained possession of his body and trained Sabrina at the Mountains of Madness on all things the Void. Later, Faustus was blinded with a trap and then Prudence, unable to kill him, cut him to pieces with a chainsaw and scattered his limbs so that he could no longer harm anyone.

Character Description[]

A High Priest of the Church of Night who becomes an “oppressive authority figure in Sabrina’s dark education.”[2]

Father Blackwood, is High Priest of the Church of Night and Dean of the Academy of the Unseen Arts. Ruthless and ambitious, Blackwood hides a terrifying dark agenda that will put him in direct conflict with Sabrina and other members of the coven.[3]

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 child like many other high priests before him. He offered to raise Sabrina with the orphans in the Academy of Unseen Arts, but Zelda declined this offer.

Throughout Chilling Adventures of Sabrina[]

Physical Appearance[]

Father Blackwood is a warlock with the appearance of a man in his forties. Tall and with a toned body and tattoos located on his upper back and chest, 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 former 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 was 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, Madame 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 Madame 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 both inflicting and receiving pain as he did with Zelda, using her to reach Sabrina. One of his dreams has always been to have an 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[]

Faustus Blackwood is the former High Priest of the Church of Night and mentor to Edward Spellman, who was regarded as the best conjurer in their coven. Ambrose mentioned to Prudence that Faustus is a master of the mystic arts, and they were merely his students. Everything they know about witchcraft, he taught them. Blackwood is, in fact, a powerful warlock who, among other things, is capable of telekinesis, summoning objects and beings from other places, and banishing even demons of higher ranks such as the Plague Kings with a simple command and hand gesture. Faustus is also an expert on enchantments, bewitching even Zelda Spellman, a powerful witch in her own right, with a Caligari spell that made her a submissive wife. He was also a master on glamour, being able to easily identify a witch hidden behind it.

After renouncing Lucifer and pursuing the worshipping of the Eldritch Terrors, Faustus started studying and practicing a form of Higher Magicks that associates with time, warping the very fabric of time and space. Faustus was undoubtedly strong enough to house the Dark Lord inside his body as a flesh Acheron Configuration, and even conceived a son of Lucifer with Lilith while the Dark Lord was momentarily slumbering in his mind. After being given the Mark of Cain by Lilith, Faustus became invulnerable to any weapon known to supernaturals and mortals. Because of this, he was virtually indestructible and Prudence had to cut his limbs with a chainsaw and scatter them around the world. Despite this, Faustus was still conscious, just as when the witches beheaded him and he suffered no harm, retaining the faculty of thinking and speaking with his head separated from his body.

Relationships[]

Prudence Blackwood[]

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Faustus stabs Prudence

Faustus had a problematic relationship with his illegitimate daughter, Prudence. After refusing to marry Prudence's mom who drowned herself as a result, Faustus raised Prudence with other orphans at the Church of Night. Although she was an accomplished student and grown up to be a devoted witch, he never supported or encouraged Prudence but used her to keep a tight grip on the Academy of Unseen Arts. Prudence, however, desperately sought paternal attention and recognition unsuccessfully until Faustus recognized her as his legitimate daughter under the insistence of his new wife, Zelda Spellman, but not without pitting her against Sabrina and continuing to use Prudence as his second in command at the Academy. After Faustus poisoned most of the coven, leaving just a few survivors, and fled with the newborn twins, Prudence swore revenge and the two became estranged. She tracked him throughout the world and finally found him in Scotland where she was going to kill him if Ambrose hadn't stop her. In one of the alternate timelines erased by Sabrina, Faustus killed Prudence in cold blood.

Zelda Spellman[]

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Faustus and Zelda at their Dark Wedding

Faustus married Zelda after the two had a racy S&M relationship. Former schoolmates and later fervent traditionalist members of the Church of Night, Faustus and Zelda shared a common belief of the Path of Night and blind devotion to the Dark Lord. Despite the fact that he lusted over Zelda and interested in her powers, Faustus used their marriage as a means to destroy the Spellman family, separating her from her sister and niece. The two were briefly a power couple within the coven until Faustus' misogyny and control became unbearable. During the honeymoon, in fact, Faustus hexed Zelda so that she was a perfect wife incapable of free will. As he became consumed with power and hatred of the Spellmans, Zelda and Faustus became enemies, and she replaced him at the helm of the coven, later rebranded the Order of Hecate.

Sabrina Spellman[]

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Blackwood questions Sabrina

Father Blackwood has a huge hatred towards Sabrina, daughter of his nemesis Edward Spellman, his former pupil and predecessor as High Priest of the Church of Night. Faustus despises Sabrina's half-mortal nature and her constant challenge to his authority over the coven. He also complained about this to Lilith, saying he wanted to crush Sabrina like a hammer and nail. The High Priest tried to oppose Sabrina several times but with little success even when she broke many Witch Laws like crossing to Limbo, exorcizing demons, killing other witches, and resurrecting people. When the Dark Lord revealed his plans to make Sabrina the Queen of Pandemonium, Faustus refused to kneel to the half-witch and abandoned the coven.

Judas and Judith Blackwood[]

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Faustus with baby Judas

Faustus had longed for an heir for years until his wife Constance gave birth to twins, Judith and Judas. Faustus was initially tricked by Zelda into believing the baby girl was stillborn, but even when he found out the truth, he ignored Judith because he thought her inferior to her brother. Faustus made Judas his only heir, naming him after the apostle who betrayed Jesus, and established a militant faction for him called the "Judas Society". Following his desertion of the satanic coven, Faustus kidnapped his children and used a dangerous and advanced time magick that allowed Judas and Judith to quickly become teenagers in the current timeline. Faustus was prepared to sacrifice the twins to the Eldritch Terrors, but they were saved by their older sister, Prudence.

Ambrose Spellman[]

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Faustus manipulates Ambrose

Father Blackwood manipulated Ambrose in order to create a rift in the Spellman family. Leveraging Ambrose's desire to be released from his sentence, Faustus lured him to join his warlock-only faction, the Judas Society. To do this he also used a warlock, Luke Chalfant, who seduced Ambrose. Father Blackwood hexed Ambrose to kill the Anti-Pope on his behalf, thus causing a motive to discredit the Spellman family. Unfortunately for Blackwood, his plan backfired. When Ambrose realized he had been used and deceived, he joined forces with Prudence and the two set out on Blackwood's trail to take revenge.

Lucifer Morningstar[]

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Faustus renounces Lucifer

Faustus was a conservative Satanic warlock for many years, to the point of becoming High Priest of the Church of Night and dean of the Academy of Unseen Arts. He devoted his entire life to the Path of Night, administering laws in the name of the Dark Lord. When Lucifer was freed from Hell, he revealed that he wanted to make Sabrina the Queen of Pandemonium. Faustus refused all of this and devoted himself to the Eldritch Terrors, calling them older than Lucifer or the False God. In the short time he was a flesh and blood Acheron Configuration to trap Lucifer, Faustus and the Dark Lord shared a body, and they sired a child with Lilith in the same way that Lucifer had previously sired Sabrina through Edward and Diana Spellman.

Appearances[]

Part 1[]

Part 2[]

Part 3[]

Part 4[]

Trivia[]

  • In the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comics, specifically Issue #7, "The Truth About Demonology", the High Priest of the Church of Night was called Father Alphonse Louis Constant (later changed to Fr. Joseph Constant).
  • In Part 4, Faustus assumes the identity of Father Lovecraft, a reference to H.P. Lovecraft, a major author of Weird fiction and Cosmic horror, and inspiration for the Eldritch Terrors.
  • His belief in male supremacy possibly roots in the fact that warlocks are considered to be very rare compared to witches.[4]
  • According to an early draft of the first episode Blackwood‘s first name was originally Albertus.[5]

Gallery[]

See also: Category:Images of Faustus Blackwood
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Faustus Blackwood's Gallery Can Be Found Here. The Gallery May Consist of Promotional Images, Screencaps, and Video Clips Released By Network Officials

References[]

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