Protests from Christians greeted the opening yesterday of the Greater Church of Lucifer (GCOL) in the Old Town Spring area of Houston, Texas.

Among the protesters were the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, whose members prayed for the nation and the community.

Christine Weick, known for protesting outside the Supreme Court during the controversy about same-sex marriage, was among the demonstrators.

"We are all Christians here, together against this," she said. "We ought to be filling up the whole street here that they have to pass through us to get into that church."

She added: ""This is what we get when we have freedom of religion."

GCOL co-president Michael Ford said: "We have gatherings, but they're not services. We don't preach. We don't have something that we try to tell people, 'this is reality'."

He said that the group did not sacrifice animals or worship the devil and that they did not try to convert anyone.

A statement on GCOL's website said after the opening: "As you have seen via the news it got a bit nasty out there but with the hard work of the organizers and local law enforcement everyone was safely able to express their freedoms."

The Luciferian church says on its website that adherents treat 'Lucifer' as "a symbol, an inspiration, an ally or a guide depending on how they perceive the world and personal spirituality".