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- Home > News > News Articles
| Title | [Associated Press] Rev. Moon marries thousands in global mass wedding | |||
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| Date | 2009-10-19 | Hit | 7339 | |
| Rev. Moon marries thousands in global mass wedding By HYUNG-JIN KIM (AP) ASAN, South Korea -- From South Korea to South America, the bride wore white for the Unification Church's largest mass wedding in a decade, with some 40,000 people participating in dozens of cities around the world. The "blessing ceremony" was the church's largest since 1999, and may well be the last on such a grand scale officiated by the 89-year-old Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial founder of the Unification Church. More than 20,000 people gathered at Sun Moon University campus in Asan, south of Seoul, on Wednesday while some 20,000 more joined simultaneous ceremonies in the U.S., Brazil, Australia and elsewhere. Some were new couples in unions arranged by the church; others were renewing their wedding vows. The brides wore wedding dresses or their national dress; the men wore black suits with red ties, with white scarves around their necks. The mass wedding comes as Moon moves to hand day-to-day leadership over to three sons, though the Rev. Moon Hyung-jin, the 30-year-old tapped to take over religious affairs, insists his father is healthy and remains in charge. The global ceremony is meant to mark key anniversaries in the leader's life: his 90th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his marriage to Han Hak-ja, church officials said. Brides in veils and grooms in white gloves ?hailing from South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Europe and elsewhere ?posed for photos and practiced shouting "Hurrah!" at the wedding rehearsal. "I'm a little bit nervous," admitted Rie Furuta. She had groom Tadakuni Sano, both 25-year-olds from Japan, had met only three times since their marriage was arranged in March. During the ceremony, Moon sprinkled holy water before the couples exchanged rings. After blessing the newlyweds, he led them in a loud cheer amid a shower of white confetti. "I pray that you become good husbands and wives, and men and women who can represent the world's 6 billion humankind," he told them, sobbing at moments and clasping his wife's hands. In the past, the Moons wore elaborate, high priest-style white gowns and headpieces for the blessing ceremonies. On Wednesday, Moon was dressed in a simple black suit, a rose pinned to his lapel; his wife wore a white blouse and skirt. Their austerity reflected the church's toned-down stance as it seeks to avoid the controversy of the past. "I think my wife is the most beautiful bride here," said Lee Dong-seok, a 32-year-old computer programmer from South Korea tying the knot with Japanese office worker Fumi Oshima. His 28-year-old bride replied: "I'm so happy. I like my husband because he's very trustworthy." Critics say the weddings show the church engages in cultlike practices. In the past, Moon routinely paired off couples, with many first meeting at their mass wedding. These days, even arranged couples meet beforehand, church officials said. But they're not expected to skip off to a honeymoon; couples are required to observe a 40-day waiting period before living together. Many said they would celebrate with lunch afterward, and a select group was invited to a luncheon with Moon on Thursday. Moon, a self-proclaimed Messiah who says Jesus Christ called upon him to carry out his unfinished work, has courted controversy and criticism since founding the Unification Church in Seoul in 1954. He held his first mass wedding in the early 1960s, arranging the marriages of 24 couples and renewing the vows of 12 others. The weddings grew in scale; the first held outside South Korea was at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1982. That one drew tens of thousands of participants ?and protesters. Moon frequently paired off people from different countries as part of his aim to create a multicultural religious world. "My wish is to completely tear down barriers and to create a world in which everyone becomes one," Moon said in his recent autobiography. In New York, 22-year-old Krystof Heller, whose parents married in a 1982 mass wedding, has known new wife Maria Lee of South Korea for about four months. "It's something you grow up with. It something you anticipate through your whole life," he said. "It's not just about a mass wedding; there is the moral emphasis. The big crowd is just the perk." In Washington D.C., churchgoers watched the ceremony on a large screen flanked by the flags of South Korea, Japan and the United States. "This is the best way to make peace," said Fumi Oliver, a native of Japan who married an American, the Rev. Zagery Oliver, 12 years ago. "International, intercultural, interracial marriage is the best way to make peace." Hundreds of brides and grooms gathered in churches and homes across Australia, said Enrique Ledesma, Australian director of the church-affiliated Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. "It's a serene mood, but it's also a very joyful mood." In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Laudicea Corina de Padua called her wedding a dream come true. "Taking part in a mass wedding only adds to the profoundness ?I barely have the words to describe what I feel," said the 40-year-old, dressed in a shimmering wedding gown. Brazilian church leaders handpicked 38-year-old metalworker Manoel Marcelino dos Santos as her husband. "Marrying in this way, with so many other people around the world, will give more strength to our union," he said. "It feels like they are all a part of us." Associated Press writers Jean H. Lee in Seoul and Soo Bin Park in Asan; Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Catherine Shoichet in Mexico City; Jessica Gresko in Washington and Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report. |
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