Parents in Russia Name their Son 'Lucifer' Creating Outcry

A boy born in Perm, Russia, has been named Lucifer by his parents, the local media reported citing the Kirov registry office that issued the birth certificate.

"My husband and I are Satanists. I wanted to name him Lucian, and he - Lucifer, but I had a very difficult birth, and I promised that if the baby survives, we'll call him Lucifer. All went well, so I kept my promise, " Natalya Menshikova, the child's mother has reportedly said.

She believes that her son will be popular as a teenager with that name, but has admitted that "as a child probably will not be very easy," gazetta.ru reported.

Satan is seen by the main religions as an evil figure which will lead mankind astray. On the contrary, Satanists see him as a liberating figure. Satanists are a diverse group, and their common feature is the admiration for Satan. They are a small but widespread group in the Western world.

The name Lucifer derives from Latin words that mean "light-bringing" and had once been used to signify a "morning star," but has long been seen by many Christian believers as synonymous with Satan.

The Moscow Times reported that family members and Christian organizations were shocked by this decision. "Satanists called a baby Lucifer," Dmitry Enteo, the head of God's Will movement, said via Twitter, as reported by The Moscow Times. "We will send a request to child welfare and have him handed over to an Orthodox family, where after christening his name will be Mikhail."

Meanwhile TASS news agency said that the Orthodox Church was willing to baptize the child under its terms. A spokesman for the Perm region branch of the Russian Orthodox Church had said the church would be willing to baptize the boy, but only to give him "the name of a saint, not the devil."