First mass wedding since Rev Moon's death
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Thousands of members of the Unification Church got married in a mass wedding, the first since the death of Sun Myung-moon, founder of the pseudo-Christian Church in South Korea.
On Sunday, 3,550 couples, members of the Church, met at the Cheongshim Peace World Center, Gapyeong, the Church headquarters in South Korea, for the mass ceremony celebrated by Hak Ja Han, Moon's 70-year-old widow, who sprayed water on and congratulated the newlyweds.
Many of the identically-dressed couples were of mixed nationality. According to the religion's precepts, they were dressed the same to symbolise world union through peace. They were of mixed nationalities so as to achieve peace through the union of various cultures.
According to its own figures, the Church has three million members with missionaries in 194 countries. Some former members and a number of critics dispute that figure, saying that the Church has no more than 100,000 followers.
Its theology is a mixture of Biblical references, Confucianism and Ceondoism, a Korean religion based on a 19th century religious movement. In 1992, Rev Moon and his wife proclaimed themselves to be the Messiah.
In 60 years, Moon built an economic empire that transcends his religious movement to include newspapers, universities, factories and financial companies.
At least ten firms are located in South Korea where Rev Moon was both famous and, for some, infamous. The reverend, who died last year at the age of 92, was the object of a lot of criticism.
In 2003, he caused a stir when, during a sermon, he forgave the perpetrators of the Holocaust, claiming that the latter was divine punishment against the Jews for killing Jesus.
Moon is also known for having celebrated the marriage of a Catholic prelate, Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, with a Korean woman, Maria Sung, in New York City, which caused a lot of discussions and frictions within the Catholic Church.
Rev Moon's funeral on 14 September 2012 drew more than 30,000 faithful.
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