All the Lands We Loved

This week in history: October 5-11

• The Cheongpa-dong Church is purchased
• The Belvedere estate is purchased
• CARP confronts communism in West Germany
• A post-9/11 conference on “Global Violence: Conflict and Hope” is held
   

October 7, 1955

Cheongpa-dong Church Purchased

The old Chungpa Dong church, formerly a Japanese temple, with its clay tile roof.

True Father teaching at Chungpa Dong.

Three days after True Father’s release from Seodaemun Prison, the church borrowed 2 million won to purchase an abandoned building in poor repair on a hillside in Cheongpa-dong, Seoul. It reportedly had been a small Japanese Buddhist temple during the colonial era and one of many houses categorized as “enemy property.” This was the first property purchased by the Unification Church, which previously had occupied rented space, and was its headquarters building for the next 20 years. It was the site of True Parents’ engagement and Holy Wedding as well as the 36 and 72 Couples Holy Weddings. It was where the earliest editions of the Divine Principle were distributed. It served as True Parents’ residence and was where True Father planned the church’s world mission.

Later, while in the United States, True Father received word that members were planning to remodel the Cheongpa-dong Church. With great urgency he sent a telegram telling them to stop. True Father wrote in his autobiography, “This church embodies an irrecoverable period in my personal history, but more important than that, it testifies directly to the history of our church. … What matters is not some beautiful exterior but the secret life of tears that dwells within that building. … When I look at a particular pillar, I am reminded of a time when I clung to that pillar and wept over a particular matter … [it] makes me weep again. To see a door frame that is a little crooked reminds me of the past. … The floor boards where I bent over in prayer and shed so many tears are gone. … I … need memories of that pain. It doesn’t matter if the external style or appearance is old. Much time has passed, and now we have many churches that are well built. But for me, I would rather go to the small house on the hill in Cheongpa-dong and pray. I feel more comfortable there.”
 

October 10, 1972             

Belvedere Estate Purchased

In 1972, True Father directed Unificationists in the United States to find a large property in New York suitable for use as an international training center. The assignment was given to New York center director Philip Burley, who found Belvedere three days after it had been put on the market. Situated on the Hudson River thirty miles north of New York City in Tarrytown, the twenty-two-acre estate was described in a brochure sent to True Father in Korea, and he said to buy it.

The Maryland church center had had success selling its own manufactured candles, and it was decided to try that as a national effort to raise money for the large down payment. For seven weeks nearly every member in every state abandoned all other activities in order to sell candles.

With Anchor Hocking six-ounce brandy snifters and Amoco paraffin piled floor to ceiling, the College Park/Upper Marlboro centers reached peak production of 1,700 dozen candles a week, or about 250 dozen (3,000 candles) a day. A similar factory with a rotating crew was set up in the Denver center garage, and a third factory was operated by the Berkeley, California, center. “Express candle vans” delivered “still warm” candles, and “mobile fundraising teams” were formed for the first time. As a result of the total mobilization and fundraising innovations, the down payment was made. At 1:00 p.m. on October 10, 1972, the caretaker of Belvedere received a call from the seller saying that, from that moment, “Belvedere is in new hands.” Later that day a group of Unificationists arrived to explore the house and grounds. Dr. Young Oon Kim asked them, “How can you describe a miracle? … Now you have seen Belvedere. Is it better than your dreams?”

October 10, 1981

CARP Confronts Massive Leftist Demonstration in West Germany

The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP) spearheaded the Unificationist opposition to communism on college campuses from the 1960s. In the early 1980, US CARP launched an organized assault on Marxist-Leninist doctrines under the leadership of Rev. Chong Goo “Tiger” Park. Prior to this, a Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade (RCYB) had assaulted CARP members on a California campus. This was the first of innumerable confrontations between CARP and leftist campus groups over the next several years. Many of the most memorable encounters occurred in traditionally liberal or radical campus settings, such as the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

In what was one of CARP’s most memorable confrontations, “Tiger” Park led a counterdemonstration of 130 CARP members against a 250,000-strong anti-nuclear armament rally in Bonn, Germany, on October 10, 1981, barely escaping after being pursued by attackers wielding sticks, pipes and chains. This was the kickoff to a decade of activism. CARP developed a revolutionary, activist élan of its own replete with practiced chants, burnings of Soviet leaders in effigy, hard-driving rock bands with names such as Blue Tuna and Prime Force, and touring martial arts groups (these were especially helpful in protecting podiums from assaults). All this became part of the lore and allure of CARP during the Cold War era.
 

October 10, 2001

Post-9/11 Conference on “Global Violence: Conflict and Hope”

The Global Violence Crisis and Hope assembly is held as a response to the tragedy on September 11.

Like the rest of the world, the Unification Church and its affiliated organizations were shocked by the tragic events of September 11, 2001. After a 12,000-Couple World Clergy Blessing scheduled for September 22 at Madison Square Garden was canceled, a “Day of Prayer and Healing” prayer breakfast and rally were held in the heart of Manhattan. However, True Father did not consider this to be sufficient and convened a major gathering at the New York Hilton from October 10 to 13 to address “root causes and potential solutions to global violence.” Assembly 2001 was the second in a series of meetings sponsored by the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) to address global problems. The event convened some 400 political and religious leaders, media representatives, NGO representatives, scholars and peace activists from 101 nations, whom conference organizer Dr. Thomas Walsh congratulated for their “courage” in coming to New York.

Those attending included former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle; H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid, former president of Indonesia and head of the world’s largest organization of Muslims; the former presidents of Guatemala, Seychelles, Costa Rica, Belarus and Mongolia, and the former governor-general of Canada as well as many religious leaders such as Dr. Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University, Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, and Rabbi David Broadman, chief rabbi of two cities in Israel.

In his closing banquet address, “Let Us Discover the True Meaning of I,” True Father focused on human beings finding their “true” selves. This, he said, was possible only through “living for one’s family, nation, world and God.” In this way, “I” expands to ever more inclusive levels of “we.” Based on this vision of solidarity, True Father asked participants to go out to the world as “God-appointed ambassadors to realize world peace.”

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of October 5-11.

New Beginnings

This week in history: September 28-October 4

• True Parents introduce “My Pledge” which later becomes the “Family Pledge”
• True Father begins the 21-city “Day of Hope” tour
• True Father launches Ocean Church
• HSA-UWC Japan is founded
• True Parents proclaim a new Holy Day: Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World
• True Father is released from Seodaemun Prison
• The Unification Church obtains legal status in Korea
• True Father proclaims the Day of the Victory of Heaven

October 1, 1962

True Parents Introduce “My Pledge”

Following the Holy Blessing of 36 Couples in 1961, True Parents introduced an abbreviated version of what became “My Pledge” on October 1, 1962. “My Pledge” consisted of five statements that affirmed Unification faith and commitments. It was a staple of Unification devotional life, regularly recited on Sunday mornings, the first day of the month, and on Holy Days from its introduction until 1994, when it was superseded by the “Family Pledge.”

October 1, 1973

True Father Kicks Off the 21-City “Day of Hope” Speaking Tour at Carnegie Hall

True Father conducted four “Day of Hope” speaking tours in the United States between 1972 and 1974. The initial 7-city tour served to unite Unificationists of the several groups created by missionaries during the 1960s. The second 21-city tour began the process of catapulting the Unification Church into the public limelight. More than 400 Unificationists, including missionaries from Europe and Japan, came to New York City to publicize True Father’s talks, which began at Carnegie Hall on October 1, 1973, with “Christianity in Crisis: New Hope.” In addition to mass leafleting, the event was advertised in newspaper and magazine ads, on bus and commuter train posters, and in professionally made radio announcements.

The results were remarkable. In New York, the event attracted widespread media coverage. The New York Daily News carried a large photo and article on a Day of Hope rally on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street. Time, Newsweek and Christianity Today all carried stories on the campaign. A generally positive Associated Press feature story appeared in 79 newspapers throughout the United States. Two hundred and fifty prominent New Yorkers attended the inaugural “Day of Hope” banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Telegrams of congratulations were read from the New York City mayor and several U.S. congressmen. Afterward, two 40-member International One World Crusade (IOWC) advance teams prepared for each of the remaining cities on the tour.

October 1, 1980

True Father Launches Ocean Church

In late summer of 1980 True Father sponsored the first World Tuna Tournament in the fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to stimulate interest among Americans, particularly young people, in the ocean. Then, on October 1, 1980, he established Ocean Church. He chose 24 Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) graduates and 60 Unificationists in supporting roles to pioneer 24 port cities on the East, West and Gulf coasts. He directed them to build a foundation of sixty Unificationists, at which point they were to order ten 28-foot “Good Go” fiberglass boats from the Unification Church-owned fleet and one large stern trawler. He advised the Ocean Church pioneers to “visit the Coast Guard chief, police chief and mayor,” telling them that “your sole concern is to revive the fishing industry in America.” True Father told them that their boats “will be your churches.” Unificationists, he said, “will have a regular spiritual life” and “catch more fish than anyone else in the area, even more than people who have been fishing for many years.”
 

October 2, 1959

HSA-UWC Japan Is Founded

Missionary Sang-ik “Papa-san” Choi (fourth from left) on his way back to Japan following his first visit to Korea in seven years.

Missionary Choi and participants during the first special workshop held in Japan in 1963.

Sang-ik “Papa-san” Choi, known to Japanese Unificationists as Mr. Nishikawa, planted the seeds for the Unification Church in Japan from 1958 to 1964. Because Korea and Japan did not have diplomatic relations, he was arrested upon arrival in June 1958. Escaping confinement, he made his way to Tokyo where, after six months of struggle, he got a job as a salesman for a watch shop in the Shinjuku section. During the morning he worked. In the afternoon he witnessed. Once a week he rented the second floor of the shop to preach. On Sunday, October 2, 1959, he conducted the first Sunday service. The Unification Church of Japan commemorates this as its founding day.
 

October 3, 1988

True Parents Proclaim Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World

True Parents proclaimed a new Holy Day, Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World, on October 3, 1988, immediately following the completion of the Seoul Olympic Games. True Father explained that an ideal world must be achieved through external and internal unification. According to True Father, the key to external unification was the unity between democracy and communism, symbolically realized through the 1988 Seoul Olympics. To achieve internal unification, True Parents declared the Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World. True Father envisioned the end of all national divisions and boundaries, saying that one day humankind no longer would need visas.

Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World had additional symbolic significance, as October 3 is a national holiday in the Republic of Korea, also known as Tangun Day. It observes the legendary founding of the Korean nation in 2333 B.C.E. In effect, True Parents universalized what had been a national holiday. True Parents also selected October 3 as the day to establish the Interreligious and International Peace Council (IIPC) in 2003 as a new, Abel-like United Nations. True Father appropriately spoke on the topic “The New Elimination of Boundaries and World Peace.” In 2007, True Parents changed the name of the day from Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World to Foundation Day for the Nation of Cosmic Unity, also referred to as the Foundation Day for the Unified Nation of Heaven and Earth. This indicated that the providence had advanced beyond the world to the cosmic level and that humankind could become “citizens of heaven.”
 

October 4, 1955

True Father Is Released from Seodaemun Prison

On July 4, 1955, True Father and four Unification Church leaders were arrested on charges of illegal confinement and violation of military regulations, stemming from work on Seoul’s Ewha Women’s University campus. This followed the dismissal of professors and expulsion of students who had joined the church. True Father was convicted and sent to Seodaemun Prison, a facility constructed by Japanese colonial authorities for the confinement and torture of Korean nationalists. True Father’s conviction was overturned on appeal, and he was released after three months on October 4, 1955. According to True Father, a number of prison officials “became part of our Unification family” following his release.
 

October 4, 1963

Unification Church Obtains Legal Standing in Korea

True Father and four disciples founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC), or Unification Church, in May 1954. However, the church did not obtain legal standing until October 4, 1963. In effect, it was an underground church, particularly during the Syngman Rhee presidency (1948-60). After Rhee’s ouster, there was more openness, especially as a result of the church’s efforts to promote literacy among Korea’s village population and its campaign to arm police ideologically against communism. The church continued to face opposition and harassment, but it had surmounted legal barriers to its existence and development.

October 4, 1976

The Day of Victory of Heaven

True Father holding a replica of the Washington Monument during the post-rally celebrations.

A little more than two weeks after the Washington Monument Rally and on the 26th anniversary of his release from Seodaemun Prison, True Father proclaimed the Day of the Victory of Heaven before several thousand Unificationists at Belvedere. He stated that the Washington Monument Rally was an “unqualified victory” and that barriers in the spirit world had been broken down. This, he said, “will be reflected in the physical world.” He predicted that the Unification Church would “take off in leaps and bounds from now,” and he discussed prospects in evangelism, business and educational activities. In fact, the Washington Monument campaign was a watershed event in the history of the Unification Church in America. It closed out the initial proclamation period of True Father’s ministry and opened the way for new initiatives in evangelism, education, interfaith relations, business, media and public life. The Unification Church began to develop an infrastructure that greatly expanded its ability to exert influence in the United States and elsewhere.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of September 28 to October 4.

Interfaith and International Peace

This Week in History, September 21-27

• The Mongolian Peoples’ Federation for World Peace is created
• Following 9/11, an interfaith day of prayer and healing brings together more than 1,000 clergy
• True Father launches the “Substantial” Abel UN
   

September 21, 2004

Inauguration of Mongolian Peoples’ Federation

True Father speaks at the International Peace Conference for Mongolian Leaders from Around the World.

True Father established numerous Federations for World Peace following the end of the Cold War and into the new millennium. From September 21 to 24, 2004, the first International Peace Conference for Mongolian Leaders from Around the World took place in Seoul. This conference led to the creation of the Mongolian Peoples’ Federation for World Peace (MPFWP). True Father defined Mongolian peoples as those born with the Mongolian birthmark, a bluish mark usually seen on the backside. He asserted that nearly three-quarters of the world’s population is linked to Mongolian roots and that the Mongolian birthmark appears not only in persons of the yellow race but also among many black and white people. He maintained that values preserved among Mongolian peoples, such as faith in absolute values, an understanding of human spirituality, belief in the existence of the spirit world, an emphasis on family tradition and the importance of lineage would play a significant role in bringing about the realization of a world of peace. The initial conference brought together 300 participants from Mongolia, Korea, Japan, China and 34 other nations. The Mongolian Federation convened subsequent meetings under the auspices of the Universal Peace Federation.

September 22, 2001

Interfaith Day of Prayer and Healing

More than 1,000 clergy from all faiths attended an Interfaith Prayer Breakfast and Day of Prayer and Healing to offer prayers for the victims of the 9/11 tragedy in New York and Washington, D.C.

True Father had called for a 12,000-couple World Clergy Blessing to take place in New York’s Madison Square Garden on September 22, 2001. It was intended to build upon the Interfaith Marriage Blessing of 60 clergy couples the previous May in which Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo was blessed with Korean Unificationist Maria Sung. The tragic events of 9/11 intervened and the clergy Blessing was postponed. In lieu of the Blessing, an Interfaith Prayer Breakfast brought together more than 1,000 clergy and guests in the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center and an outdoor Day of Prayer and Healing rally took place at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building in Harlem. The rally attracted some 3,000 participants as well as coverage on CNN, CBS and other media outlets.  Forty American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) ministers had counseled police and firefighters at Ground Zero the night before the prayer breakfast and rally and continued to do so in the days that followed.

September 23, 2007

True Father Launches the “Substantial” Abel UN

True Father launched the “Substantial” Abel UN at the Manhattan Center.

In 2000, True Father’s proposal to renew the United Nations through incorporating an interreligious peace council launched the UN providence. The following year, True Father began the Ambassador for Peace program. In 2003, he established the Interreligious and International Peace Council (IIPC) and in 2005, on the occasion of the UN’s 60th anniversary, he founded the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), whose core objective was “to work cooperatively with the United Nations and to serve and support that institution as it seeks to fulfill its own global mission.” Two years later, on September 23, 2007, True Father launched what he termed the “Substantial” Abel UN.

Conducted at the Manhattan Center, the inauguration brought together representatives from 192 nations seated at UN-styled conference tables. Flags and regalia added to the atmosphere. In his three-hour keynote address, augmented by extemporaneous comments, True Father referred to UPF as “an Abel-type counterpart to the UN” and to the new initiative as the “Peace UN.” He expressed hope that it would “lead the way for millions of Ambassadors for Peace throughout the world … to fulfill the heavenly will of creating ‘One Family under God.’” Finishing at 11:00 p.m., True Father penned an approximately thirty-foot calligraphic message that read in Chinese characters, “May the Sovereignty of the God of True Love, the Sacred Reign of Peace, Last Forever.” He then struck a giant gong, sealing the evening’s proceedings.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of September 21-27.

Rallying a New World Together

This Week in History, September 14-20

• True Mother tours Japan with President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush.
• True Father starts a new prayer tradition.
• True Father’s Seonghwa ceremony is held.
• Korea hosts the Olympics.
• True Father speaks at Madison Square Garden.
• True Father speaks at the Washington Monument Rally.
   

September 14, 1995

True Mother Tours Japan with President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush

On September 14, 1995, fifty thousand representatives from 53 countries gathered in the Tokyo Dome for a rally to celebrate the third anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Federation for World Peace. True Mother spoke, as did former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. The president, along with former first lady Barbara Bush, accompanied True Mother on a historic five-city tour which focused on building bridges of friendship between the Japanese and American people. The Bushes were inspired to do so as a result of their participation in the WFWP-sponsored “Sisterhood Ceremonies” which brought together women from Japan and the United States on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II.
 

September 14, 1999

A New Prayer Tradition

Former U.S. President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush attend a WFWP conference.

The press conference announcing the World Festival of Culture.

On September 14, 1999, True Father opened the era in which blessed families were no longer to pray in the name of True Parents or any mediator but in their own names as blessed couples who have inherited True Parents’ realm of victory. True Father explained that this was meant to mark the era of “personal responsibility.” He said that couples should “report their work” and that it was no longer “a time to pray to receive blessings.” This guidance was consistent with True Father’s view that humankind had entered the Completed Testament Age.

September 15, 2012

True Father’s Seonghwa Ceremony

True Father ascended to the spirit world on September 3, 2012 and his seonghwa ceremony was held on September 15 in Korea.

True Father’s “Universal Seonghwa Ceremony” took place at Cheongshim World Peace Center on September 15, 2012, twelve days after his ascension on September 3.  From September 6 to 14, an estimated 157,000 people had come to pay their respects to True Farther, many waiting for hours to sign an electronic register and offer a rose or lily before True Father’s portrait. Most had been able to offer a final bow to True Father, who lay in state at the Cheon Jeong Gung peace palace. On the day of the Seonghwa True Father’s body was carried reverently to a waiting vehicle and a flower-bedecked procession wound its way slowly down the mountainside to the stadium where tens of thousands of mourners waited. The casket was met at the main entrance by an honor guard of pallbearers and began a dignified processional entry through the center of the arena up to the main stage, which had been transformed into a garden of roses, lilies and chrysanthemums. True Father’s family accompanied the procession, and True Mother took her seat next to True Father for the last time. Following the representative prayer, Seonghwa address and eulogies, True Father began his final journey, with the procession winding its way back up the narrow mountain road lined with flag-waving supporters to the burial site on the grounds of the Cheon Jeong Gung peace palace. There, close family members and leaders gathered to hear final words from True Father’s teachings. Each offered flowers and sprinkled soil onto the casket as it was lowered into the waiting earth.
 

September 17, 1988

Seoul Olympics

True Father welcomes the representatives of 120 nations to his home in Korea for the Seoul Olympics.

The Games of the XXIV Olympiad took place from September 17 to October 2, 1988, in Seoul. The “Seoul Olympics” were significant not only for Korea as the second Asian nation to host the Olympic Games but also for the world, as the games brought together athletes from the communist and free-world nations for the first time since 1976. These also were the last Olympic Games for the Soviet Union and East Germany, both of which would cease to exist by the time of the next Olympic Games in 1992. True Father recognized this and made a special effort to welcome Eastern Bloc and Soviet athletes, providing them with generous gifts and invitations to cultural events. Although Coca-Cola was the official soft drink of the Games, athletes, friends and officials of many nations accepted more than 40,000 cans of McCol and bottles of Ginseng-Up. Following completion of the games, True Father proposed the holding of a World Festival of Culture (later designated as the World Culture and Sports Festival) as an “internal” complement to the Olympic Games.
 

September 18, 1974

True Father Speaks at Madison Square Garden

True Father speaks at Madison Square Garden on September 18, 1974.

True Father’s Madison Square Garden Speech, delivered on September 18, 1974, in New York City, was the culmination of his “Day of Hope” speaking tours which had begun nearly two years earlier. Building on all that had gone before, “MSG” launched a triumphant 8-City Tour through many of the same cities that had been visited in the 7-City tour of 1972. Filling Madison Square Garden was the Unification Church of America’s most ambitious undertaking to date, and the arrival of seven hundred IOWC members in mid-August greatly augmented campaign preparations in New York City. Ten 70-member IOWC teams followed rigorous street canvassing schedules. Representatives from each of the forty nations where the Unification Church maintained missions and the remaining American church members — in all, about 2,000 — converged on New York City for a final week-long blitz prior to September 18. Members “wallpapered” Manhattan with eighty thousand two-by-three-foot posters with a portrait of True Father advertising that “September 18 Could Be Your Re-Birthday.” The New York Times reported, “His face is everywhere, it seems.”

The turnout at Madison Square Garden was astounding. At a kick-off banquet held in the Waldorf Astoria hotel on the previous evening approximately 1,600 prominent New Yorkers had a chance to see and hear True Parents. The following night, Madison Square Garden was filled to capacity, with an estimated 10,000 to 35,000 ticket-holders turned away. True Father spoke on “The New Future of Christianity.” He proclaimed that Jesus had not come to die on the cross, that the crucifixion was the “secondary,” not the “original” mission of Christ, that the Lord would return “as the Son of Man in the flesh,” and that “that day is at hand.” With nearly two hundred journalists in attendance, widespread publicity helped ensure success in other cities. The pattern of overflow crowds and continued publicity was repeated throughout the tour.
 

September 18, 1976

Washington Monument Rally

Crowds gather at the Washington Monument when True Father speaks in 1976.

True Father spoke before 300,000 people at the Washington Monument rally, which was the second of two major rallies held in 1976 to celebrate the United States’ bicentennial. The first had been the Yankee Stadium rally on June 1 in New York City. They were both part of the “Bicentennial God Bless America Festival,” which True Father stated was unique among the bicentennial observances because they were convened in the name of God and included international participants. At Washington Monument, True Father spoke on “America and God’s Will.” He stated, “The United States of America, transcending race and nationality, is already a model of the unified world.” He also said that Judaism, Christianity and the Unification Church are sibling faiths and that Israel, the United States and Korea as sibling nations had “a common destiny representing God’s side” and needed “to restore the United Nations to its original purpose and function.” He called upon the three religions and nations to “join hands in a unified effort,” contributing “internally to the unification of world religions and externally to the unification of the world itself.”

After the Washington Monument Rally, True Father confessed: 

I feel light as a feather. I feel like I can fly. I have borne a tremendous burden of responsibility, but with the victory at Washington Monument, I feel like I have been liberated from the weight. I can now walk as a free man. I can hold my head up before heaven and earth.

Washington Monument was a watershed event in the history of the Unification Church in America. It concluded the initial proclamation phase of Rev. Moon’s ministry and opened the way for new initiatives in the fields of evangelism, education, interfaith relations, business, media and public life.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of September 14-20.

A New World of Peace

This Week in History, September 7-13

• True Mother becomes the first Korean woman to speak at the United Nations.
• True Father receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Bridgeport and a Doctor Honoris Causa degree.
• True Father saw a new world rising from the devastation of 9/11.
• True Father established the Universal Peace Federation.
   

September 7, 1993

True Mother Speaks at the United Nations

True Mother gives her address at the UN headquarters September 7, 1993.

True Mother gives her address at the UN September 7, 1993.

True Mother delivered the speech “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age” at the United Nations on September 7, 1993. This followed her delivery of the same speech at the U.S. Capitol on July 28 before representatives from 115 congressional offices and was the springboard to her world tour in which she delivered the same message at 25 rallies in Japan in September, on 40 Korean college campuses in October and in 40 nations during November and December. Prior to her Capitol Hill and UN speeches, on April 10, 1993, the movement published “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age” in the newspapers of 160 nations. True Father delivered the “Completed Testament Age” proclamation in 12 U.S. cities during May 1993 and True Mother in 21 more during late May and June. At the UN event, 105 nations sent embassy and consulate representatives, including more than 60 UN ambassadors. His Excellency Stoyan Ganev, president of the UN General Assembly, introduced True Mother. She was the first Korean woman to speak in the United Nations.

September 7, 1995, September 12, 2006

True Father Receives Honorary Doctorates

True Father receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Bridgeport September 7, 1995.

The University of Bridgeport awarded True Father an honorary doctorate on September 7, 1995. In addition to honoring his work as a religious leader, the award was an acknowledgment of his role in saving the financially troubled university in 1992. Dr. Richard Rubenstein, the school president, stated, “Without him, the university would have died.” The head of the faculty council was quoted in The New York Times as saying she was “happy the university could formally thank a benefactor who had given so much.”

The Universidad Santa Maria in Caracas, Venezuela, awarded True Father a Doctor Honoris Causa degree on September 12, 1996, the first anniversary of the founding of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF). The university’s vice president, Dr. Carlos Enrique Pena, who conferred the degree, explained, “When I learned about the life and work of Rev. Moon, I felt that it was the sacred duty of our university to offer the highest honor to recognize an extraordinary contribution to the field of human rights.”
 

September 11, 2001

Attack on America

The terror attacks of September 11, 2001, impacted the Unificationists as it did people worldwide. Prior to 9/11, True Father had called for a 12,000 couple World Clergy Holy Marriage Blessing scheduled for September 22 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The events of 9/11 not only forced the cancellation of the September 22 blessing but also challenged the interreligious and world peace premise upon which it was based. In the days after the World Trade Center’s destruction, Unificationist leaders and American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) clergy who were gathered in New York to prepare for the September 22 Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony, ministered directly to bereaved families as well as to police, firefighters and others at the site. Many went, starting from the first night.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Unificationists looked to True Father for guidance as to its meaning. He was in Kodiak, Alaska, at the time of the attack and learned of it through a note that was passed to him during morning devotions. Dr. Chang Shik Yang, currently the Special Emissary to the Americas, reported then that True Father “remained by himself and prayed” for the next three days, not appearing in public. He then made the decision to cancel the clergy Marriage Blessing and flew to New York on September 18. On arrival, he offered his interpretation of the tragedy. In his words, “Jesus was on the cross, now America stands on the cross of the world.” The question was, how would America respond? According to True Father: “Now is the time to change everything. America and Americans must take the lead in practicing ‘Love your enemy.’” As he saw it, religious leaders needed to take the lead. They “must unite beyond their religion and guide the political leaders of their nations.” He directed Unificationists convene an assembly on “Global Violence: Conflict and Hope” in October, and on November 15 he proclaimed Cheonju Pyeonghwa Tongil Guk (the Nation of Cosmic Peace and Unity). Just as Christianity emerged from the crucifixion and the Unification Church from the rubble of the Korean War, so True Father saw a new world rising from the devastation of 9/11.
 

September 12, 2005

Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Founded

True Father speaks at the inauguration of the Universal Peace Federation on September 12, 2005.

True Parents at the inauguration of the Universal Peace Federation on September 12, 2005.

True Father established the Universal Peace Federation on September 12, 2005, prior to the United Nations’ 60th anniversary. Its inaugural convocation was held before 376 delegates from 157 nations at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York. Its mission, True Father declared, was “to renew the existing United Nations and provide a new level of leadership as an ‘Abel-type’ United Nations.” As part of the launch, he also proposed a “World Peace King Bridge Tunnel” to “build a passage for transport across the Bering Strait.” He described this as “a truly providential and revolutionary project” and envisioned it as a crucial “link” in “an international highway system connecting the world as a single community.” UPF was a successor organization to the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP, established in 1999). In addition to its UN renewal and Bering Strait initiatives, UPF led the movement’s Middle East Peace Initiative (MEPI), which sponsored interfaith “Pilgrimages for Peace,” and its Northeast Asia Peace Initiative (NEAPI), which supported Korean unification.

The Living Word in Action

This week in history, August 31-September 6:

• True Father visits Jerusalem
• CAUSA obtains 10 million signatures
• Unificationists begin a new tradition called “Hoon Dok Hwe”
• True Father ascends into the spirit world.

August 31, 1965

True Father Prays at Calvary and Gethsemane

True Father visits Jordan prior to crossing over to Israel during his first World Tour

True Father visited Jerusalem on August 31, 1965, as part of his first World Tour. Two days previously, on August 29, he visited Mount Nebo where Moses stood and looked over the Promised Land. The next day, he and his party crossed the Jordan River and visited the area where Jesus was reported to have been baptized and the Mount of Temptation. He went into the city through the gate Jesus entered on a donkey, went to the Temple Mount, visited Pilate’s court and proceeded to Calvary under the altar of a Greek Orthodox Church. He went to Gethsemane at sunset, where he blessed a Holy Ground. Dr. Young Oon Kim, who traveled with True Father, wrote, “Our Leader and all of us burst into tears as he prayed on Calvary and Gethsemane.”
 

September 1, 1986

CAUSA 10 Million Signature Drive

A woman collects signatures for CAUSA USA

True Father planned to conduct a Moscow rally by 1981, but this was prolonged for nearly a decade due to court battles in the United States and the need to build up a stronger church. Having concluded the “Danbury Course” and established a multifaceted presence in America by 1985, True Father mounted a march to Moscow from 1985 to 1990. He understood that the Soviets respected strength and that any perceived weakness on the part of the West would set back the providence. Therefore he continued to expend resources in the fight against communism. One major effort was a massive signature drive launched by CAUSA-USA on September 1, 1986. The goal was to obtain 10 million signatures, including names and addresses, on a form stating that the signers agreed with CAUSA-USA’s goals to:

1) Affirm a God-centered morality in America,
2) Uphold freedom for all,
3) Educate people about the dangers of atheistic communism.

Unificationists and some supporters worked aggressively in all fifty states to complete the drive by Thanksgiving. The signature drive “victory” had an especially positive effect on U.S. Unificationists, who gained self-esteem and confidence as a result of being able to accomplish one of True Father’s goals on the national level.
 

September 1, 1997

Beginning of the Hoon Dok Hwe Tradition

A Hoon Dok Hwe conference is held in Washington D.C. in 1999

On September 1, 1997, True Father proclaimed a “New Start.” He began a tradition where all Unificationist families set aside one hour each morning from 6:00 to 7:00 to recite the Family Pledge (Core pledge of Unificationists), then hold a daily study and discussion of his words. On October 13, 1997, True Father named the daily morning reading tradition Hoon Dok Hwe,which was understood to be a “gathering for reading and learning.” In addition to being a cornerstone of morning devotionals, the church sponsored Hoon Dok Hwe conferences for civic and religious leaders that focused on “reading and learning” True Father’s words. True Father’s words later would become the basis for the Cheon Seong Gyeong (2004) or “Heavenly Scripture.”
 

September 3, 2012

True Father’s Ascension

True Father ascended to the spirit world on September 3 2012 and his seonghwa ceremony was held in Korea

True Father ascended into the spirit world at 1:54 a.m. on September 3, 2012 (7.17 by the Heavenly Calendar) in the loving company of True Mother and True Family. He had been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul on August 3, 2012, due to cold symptoms that worsened into pneumonia. On August 12, after 10 days of tests and treatment, he insisted on returning to the Cheon Jeong Museum where he went from room to room, visiting the East, West, North and South of the facility. The following day his condition worsened. Nevertheless, he insisted on visiting Cheongshim Middle and High School, the Cheongpyeong World Peace Center and the Cheongpyeong Training Center before returning to the Cheon Jeong Museum, where he offered his final prayer. Afterward he was rushed back to St. Mary’s Hospital, where he remained in the Intensive Care Unit until August 31, when True Mother directed that he return to Cheongshim Medical Center, the eighth floor, from where he ascended.
 

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of August 31 to September 6.

Unveiling Love and Truth

This week in history: August 24-30

• True Father hosts the World Tuna Tournament.
• True Parents conduct the International Holy Wedding Ceremony of 30,000 couples (1992) and 360,000 couples (1995).
• World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts is finished and unveiled.
   

August 24-30, 1980

True Father Hosts World Tuna Tournament in Gloucester, Massachusetts

True Father considered the ocean to be a solution to world hunger and a key to future human survival. He also wished to revitalize American seaports and spoke of the need for youth, especially inner-city youth, to be exposed to the challenges and excitement of sea-going life. An early effort to stimulate interest and excitement was the “World Tuna Tournament,” which the Unification Church sponsored in Gloucester, Massachusetts, from August 24 to 30, 1980. Total prize money was $100,000: $70,000 for first prize, $20,000 for second, and $10,000 for third, the largest cash prizes ever awarded in a tuna-fishing tournament. The tournament was controversial, given the negativity toward the Unification Church in the United States at that time, and many Gloucester fishermen boycotted the event. Nevertheless, 88 boats entered, 15 of which were part of the churches’ fleet. In the end, True Father’s New Hope boat won first prize, which was donated to charity. The World Tuna Tournament was a stepping stone toward the establishment of “Ocean Church” later in the year.
 

August 25, 1992

International Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony of 30,000 Couples

True Parents conducted the International Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony of 30,000 Couples in the Seoul Olympic Stadium on August 25, 1992. It was the centerpiece of the first World Culture and Sports Festival (WCSF), held from August 19 to 30, and the largest Marriage Blessing ceremony yet conducted by True Parents. True Father stated that it marked the beginning of the worldwide Marriage Blessing era through which anyone, regardless of religion, could be blessed. He also noted that it occurred in the year that True Mother stepped forth as a public figure. Afterward, True Father announced that True Parents would conduct a Marriage Blessing for 360,000 couples.
 

August 25, 1995

International Holy Marriage Blessing of 360,000 Couples

True Parents took a major step forward in the August 25, 1995 International Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony of 360,000 Couples, which was the central event of the second World Culture and Sports Festival, held August 20 to 27. The main site was at Seoul Olympic Stadium where 36,000 couples and additional onlookers gathered. The remaining couples were linked simultaneously to the main ceremony at more than 500 satellite locations in 160 nations. True Parents extended an invitation to people of all religious persuasions to participate in the Blessing. As pointed out by Dr. Tyler Hendricks, president of the Unification Church in the United States at the time, “The Blessing isn’t about changing your religion but about changing your character.” For many thousands of previously married couples who participated in the International Holy Marriage Blessing of 360,000 Couples, the Blessing was both a blessing of their existing marriage and a public expression of their commitment to God, humanity and each other.
 

August 27, 1991

Unveiling of World Scripture

A highlight of the Inaugural Assembly of the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace was the unveiling of World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Commissioned by True Father at the first Assembly of the World’s Religions in 1985, the nearly 1,000-page text required the labors of more than 40 scholars and religious leaders from every faith. World Scripture compares passages from the sacred writings of the world’s great religions as they deal with all the significant issues of life: God, the purpose of life, sin, salvation, and the spiritual path, and demonstrates that there exists a vast sphere of spiritual common ground. The text was edited by Dr. Andrew Wilson, professor of Biblical Studies at Unification Theological Seminary, and contains over 4,000 passages gathered from 268 sacred texts and 55 oral traditions. Religions represented include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Sikhism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Baha’i Faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Unification Church , among others. Scriptural texts are gathered around 165 topics and concerns shared by most or all religions.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of August 24 to 30.

True Father Begins and Ends His Ministry

This week in history: August 10-16

• True Father gives his final prayer.
• The Professors World Peace Academy convenes under the title “The Fall of the Soviet Empire.”
• True Parents donate 29 ambulances to towns in Brazil.
• World War ll ends; True Father proclaims this “a unique time in history.”
• The Republic of Korea is established.
• Wolli Haesul (Explanation of the Principle), the first official publication of the Unification Church doctrine, is published.

August 13, 2012

True Father’s Final Prayer

Though he is very ill, True Father takes time to visit the Cheongshim Middle and High School, Cheongpyeong World Peace Center and the Cheongpyeong Training Center.

True Father was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul on August 3, 2012, due to cold symptoms that worsened into pneumonia. On August 12, after 10 days of tests and treatment, he insisted on returning to the Cheon Jeong Gung Peace Palace. After arriving, True Father went from room to room in a wheelchair, visiting the East, West, North and South of the facility. He touched the table at which he and True Mother sat during Hoon Dok Hwe and many other items, now and then saying, “Please be well.” Those things he could not touch with his hands he observed with his eyes, holding True Mother’s hand tightly and repeating now and then, “Mother, thank you.” The following day, True Father’s condition continued to worsen. Nevertheless, he insisted on visiting Cheongshim Middle and High School, Cheongpyeong World Peace Center and the Cheongpyeong Training Center.

He then came to the sitting room in the Cheon Jeong Gung and asked for a digital recorder. He thought deeply for about ten minutes and then offered his final prayer:

True Father takes time to visit the Cheongshim Middle and High School, Cheongpyeong World Peace Center and the Cheongpyeong Training Center.

Today, as I have returned the completion of the final perfection of the Father, I am aware that I have offered my whole life up to this moment to the Father.
According to His Will, I am spending this time to bring my life to a conclusion, using this time to bring it to a close with Jeong Seong. … 
Tribal messiahs have established a name that can represent the nation.
I have accomplished all these tasks. I have accomplished everything.

Afterward True Mother took True Father to Cheongshim Medical Center, where his strength appeared to fail, and he was rushed back to St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul. He remained in the Intensive Care Unit there until August 31, when True Mother directed that he be returned to Cheongshim Medical Center. True Father ascended on September 3 (H.C. 7.17).
 

August 13, 1985

PWPA Conference on “The Fall of the Soviet Empire”

The Second International Conference of the Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA), scheduled for August 13 to 17, be convened under the title “The Fall of the Soviet Empire.”

Despite its declining, even exhausted economy, in 1985 the Soviet Union still appeared as formidable as ever. At that time, True Father insisted that the Second International Conference of the Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA), scheduled for August 13 to 17, be convened under the title “The Fall of the Soviet Empire.” Several prominent professors struggled with the title, considering it too extreme, but True Father refused to relent. During the conference, over 150 “Sovietology” experts and 100 international scholars presented 80 papers which resulted in four books. In the end, the conference was prophetic. Within a few years the Soviet Union began to crumble. One scholar, writing several years later in The National Interest, reported, “It is hard to believe that … [Reverend Moon] got it right when the CIA, Brookings, RAND, Harvard, Columbia and the rest got it wrong.”
 

August 13, 1996

True Parents Donate 29 Ambulances to Towns in Brazil

In 1995, True Father undertook an ambitious speaking tour of twenty-three Latin American nations, which included audiences with eight heads of state. In these speeches and meetings, he emphasized the region’s “stunning and abundant potential.” That same year he began investing in properties, centering on Jardim, a town in the Brazilian outback state of Mato Grosso do Sol, a land of “two million people and twenty million cows.” There True Father established New Hope Farm and made it a focus of the movement’s activity in the late 1990s. True Parents assigned UTS graduates from the Class of 1996 to 33 towns surrounding Jardim. When True Parents learned there were no hospitals in many of them, they donated 29 new ambulances to towns within a 200-kilometer radius of New Hope Farm and sent a medical team to each of them.
 

August 15, 1945

Japan Surrenders; World War II Ends

A photo commemorating the Independence Day of Korea.

Imperial Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing World War II to an end. The war’s end sparked nationwide rejoicing in Korea, which had been under Japanese domination for 40 years. Unificationists regard August 15, 1945 as the beginning of True Father’s public ministry. According to True Father, “The end of World War II was a unique time in human history.” It was, he stated, “the ideal time for the Second Advent.” At the same time, there were formidable challenges. Korea was occupied by new powers, the USSR in the North and the U.S. in the South. There was political chaos and social disruption with several million returning refugees; in addition, Korean churches were disunited, divided between those that had accommodated Shinto shrine worship under the Japanese and those that had resisted. Thus, while his countrymen shouted “Mansei” in the streets, True Father foresaw tremendous struggles ahead for Korea, and found it difficult to join in the independence celebrations.

August 15, 1948

The Republic of Korea Is Established

The Republic of Korea was formally established, with Syngman Rhee as the first president, August 15, 1948.

After Japan’s surrender to the Allied powers, Korea did not gain its independence. Instead, the USSR and the U.S. established separate trusteeships divided at the 38th parallel. In effect, Korea was subjected to Soviet and U.S. military occupations. This fomented discontent, especially among Korean patriots. The UN General Assembly called for a UN-supervised general election, but this was rejected. A general election for a Constitutional Assembly was held in the South, a constitution was adopted and on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea was formally established, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. Less than a month later, a communist regime, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was proclaimed under Kim Il Sung in the North. The division of Korea during the years 1945-48 was a political and providential failure. True Father traveled north in 1946 to avert this. In the end, he was arrested and spent nearly three years in a North Korean labor camp, liberated only after the outbreak of the Korean War, which resulted in a death toll of over 1.2 million.
 

August 15, 1957

Wolli Haesul Is Published

Wolli Haesul (Explanation of the Principle) was the first official publication of Unification Church doctrine. It is based on True Father’s core revelation and teachings and was written by Hyo Won Eu, the church’s first president, under True Father’s direct supervision.  It followed Wolli Wonbun (Original Text of the Principle), True Father’s handwritten text which circulated in copied manuscripts from 1952. Wolli Haesul was the standard Principle text until 1966. At that time it was superseded by Wolli Kangron (Discourse on the Principle), which expanded the text’s content and served as the basis of English translations Divine Principle (1973) and Exposition of the Divine Principle (1996). Wolli Haesul was instrumental in the church’s expansion during the 1950s and early 1960s.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of August 10 to 16.

The Wall Must Go Down!

This week in history: August 3-9

• Hyo Jin Moon led a march to the Berlin Wall
• True Father was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital after developing pneumonia
   

August 8, 1987

Hyo Jin Moon Leads March to the Berlin Wall

Hyo Jin Moon bravely leads 2,000 marchers on their way from the center of West Berlin to the Wall

World CARP held its Fourth World Convention in Berlin, Germany, from August 2 to 8, 1987, during the waning days of the Cold War. Opponents attempted to block the convention by denying CARP hotel and convention space. When those tactics failed, the leftist opposition resorted to heckling and shouting abuse at almost every event, throwing paint and stink bombs, slashing tires of 20 CARP vehicles and setting fire to a CARP bus. Nevertheless the convention was successful, with 3,000 people attending various events. The convention’s high point was on its last day, when 2,000 CARP members and others marched 7 kilometers from the center of Berlin to the Wall near Checkpoint Charlie. In spite of the hazards, World CARP President Hyo Jin Moon insisted on walking at the front of the march. Members carried flags from their countries of origin, coffins depicting the millions of deaths under communism and placards that read “Die Mauer muss weg!” (“The wall must go!”). Police provided protection, but several hundred counterdemonstrators attempted to disrupt the march by shouting and throwing paint and eggs. At the rally Hyo Jin Nim delivered a passionate address, then rushed through the crowd directly to the Wall, calling on others to join him in prayer. World CARP’s “Jericho March” was an important steppingstone to True Parents’ Moscow Rally in April 1990. In the following days, for the first time since 1961, a demonstration was held in East Berlin to protest the Wall. Young people there also were shouting “Die Mauer muss weg!”

August 3, 2012

True Father Is Admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital

Following the Inaugural Rally for the Abel Women UN on July 16, 2012, True Father caught a cold. It worsened and developed into pneumonia. Complications set in, and on August 3, he was admitted to Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, known in Korea as Seong Mo (Holy Mother), one of the nation’s finest hospitals. There, over the ensuing ten days True Father received every possible medical test, including several X-rays and PET CT blood tests. He spent that period in a private room at the hospital, not in the intensive care unit. On August 12, True Father insisted on returning to the Cheon Jeong Gung. There his condition worsened, and after a day True Mother rushed him again to St. Mary’s. True Father remained in St. Mary’s Intensive Care Unit until August 31, when he was taken to Cheongshim International Medical Center.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of August 3 to 9.

This Week in History, March 30-April 5

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are important to Unificationists. This installment covers the week of March 30-April 5.

APRIL 1, 1982

True Father acknowledging the crowd following his address.

TRUE FATHER’S TRIAL BEGINS IN NEW YORK

Opening arguments began in the infamous court trial of United States vs. Sun Myung Moon, on April 1, 1982, leading up to and during the trial; True Father’s supporters charged that the prosecution was motivated by racial and religious prejudice. At a rally outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan’s Foley Square, True Father famously stated, “If my skin were white and my religion Presbyterian, I would not be here today.” Though Father’s attorneys had requested a bench trial alleging that it was difficult to find an unbiased jury, the prosecution objected and the judge denied the motion. The trial lasted six weeks and was held in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Members say farewell hours before True Father departs for Danbury Correctional Facility, July 20 1984.

On May 18, 1982, the jury returned a guilty verdict, and on July 16, 1982, the judge sentenced True Father to 18 months in prison and a $25,000 fine. True Father’s legal team filed every appeal motion available but was ultimately denied. Ironically, in spite of all this, the movement emerged from what Unificationists term “the Danbury Course” on more solid ground than it had been on before. The reason for this was that American public opinion changed. A substantial number of influential Americans, including many of the libertarian persuasion, concluded that True Father had gotten a raw deal. His imprisonment led to an outcry from religious leaders and civil rights activists, who joined together in solidarity to protest what they saw as the unjust persecution of a religious leader. The movement deftly organized some of this sentiment into a series of “Rallies for Religious Freedom” and amicus curiae briefs supporting True Father’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the spontaneous support that emerged in op-ed pieces was more effective and consequential. More than any other sequence of events, the Danbury Course was the fulcrum around which the history of the Unification movement in America turned at the time.

Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe speaks out on True Father’s behalf.

APRIL 5, 1973

TRUE FATHER MEETS PRESIDENT OF SOUTH VIETNAM, NGUYỄN VĂN THIỆU

On April 5, 1973, True Father met with the visiting president of South Vietnam, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. According to the Freedom Leadership Foundation (FLF) Special Assistant Mike Leone, “The meetings were very, very successful.”

In the late sixties and early seventies, one of True Father’s main goals was “to prepare for the fight against communism.” Since 1969, the FLF had spearheaded the Victory Over Communism (VOC) efforts in the United States for the Unification Movement. Through the organization, True Father met numerous United States senators and congressmen in the early months of 1973, including President Thiệu. The meetings were an important step in developing the campaign to fight communism, something that would become one of the defining characteristics and focal points of the movement in the years to come.

Bringing God to the Nation

This week in history: July 27-August 2

• National Parents’ Day was proclaimed.
• True Mother spoke on Capitol Hill.
• The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) was established.
• The first National Messiah workshop was held.
   

July 27, 1993

National Parents’ Day Proclaimed

On July 27, 1993, the day before True Mother delivered her “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age” address on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution introduced by Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.) which designated July 28 as “National Parents’ Day.” The following year, President Bill Clinton signed the Congressional Resolution into law, authorizing that the last Sunday in July be recognized as “National Parents’ Day” for the purpose of “recognizing, uplifting and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children.”
 

July 28, 1993

True Mother Speaks on Capitol Hill

Culminating True Parents’ speaking tour of 33 U.S. cities under the theme of “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age,” True Mother spoke before an audience of U.S. senators, congressmen, their aides and other dignitaries on Capitol Hill in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 28, 1993. She was introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who acknowledged True Parents’ long suffering and personal sacrifice, commended their investment in The Washington Times, and referred to True Mother as “my friend.” In her speech, True Mother declared “the dawn of the Completed Testament Age” and “the establishment of the first True Family.”
 

July 30, 1996

Establishment of the Family Federation for World Peace

True Parents convened the Inaugural World Convention of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) before 400 delegates and over a thousand participants at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., from July 30 to August 1, 1996. This was the Unification movement’s most spectacular federation launch and included an astounding list of dignitaries: two former U.S. presidents of the United States, Gerald Ford and George Bush; former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias; former Prime Ministers Edward Heath of Great Britain and Brian Mulroney of Canada; thirty-six one-time heads of state or governments; university presidents including Boston University’s John Silber; Christian television personality Robert Schuller; Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed; Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr.; Maureen Reagan, the daughter of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan; well-known comedian Bill Cosby; and Christian singer-actor Pat Boone. In addition, the main proceedings were covered live by C-SPAN television network.

The inauguration of the Family Federation for Unification and World Peace took place in Washington, D.C. 

True Mother delivered an opening plenary speech on the “View of the Principle of the Providential History of Salvation,” and True Father spoke on “In Search of the Origin of the Universe” at the convention’s closing banquet. Externally, FFWPU was a high-level forum for world leaders and scholars to address issues related to the family. Internally, it marked a further stage in the movement’s development beyond salvation of the individual to salvation of the family.
 

August 1, 1996

First National Messiah Workshop

In 1996, True Father announced his intention of sending “national messiahs” to world mission. The condition to be appointed a national messiah was that both husband and wife complete a 40-day workshop at Cheongpyeong Training Center in Korea. The first 40-day workshops were for senior Korean members and missionaries who had served in Unification Church overseas missions for 21 years. The first National Messiah Workshop for the movement’s general membership (blessed couples and tribal messiahs) began at Cheongpyeong on August 1, 1996 and concluded on September 9. Over 300 national messiah candidates attended. In the end, almost 200 couples or spouses participated in a lottery to receive one of the 183 nations to which True Parents would send national messiahs. From “Abel” nations — the United States, Canada, England and France — 121 couples received nations in the lottery, whereas from “Cain” nations — Germany, Italy and Austria — 76 couples were given nations. Nations were to be assigned an “Adam” National Messiah couple from Korea, an “Eve” National Messiah couple from Japan, in addition to the Western “Abel” and “Cain” National Messiah couples. True Father directed that National Messiahs should be prepared to invest three generations of their family in their assigned country.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of July 27 to August 2.

From War to Freedom

This week in history: June 22-28

• True Father is installed as the chairman of the Korean Root-Finding Association
• The Korean War breaks out with the invasion of North Korea into South Korea
• True Father speaks to President Dwight D. Eisenhower on morals and religion
• A hearing on religious freedom takes place, followed by a rally in Washington, D.C.
• Dr. Theodore Shimmyo is inaugurated as the second president of the Unification Theological Seminary
   

June 23, 1989

True Father Installed as Chairman of the Korean Root-Finding Association

True Father was installed as the chairman of the Korean Root-Finding Association (KRFA), a national organization made up of the leaders of the 275 Korean traditional families, or clans. Also referred to as the Korean Family-Clan Chairmen’s Association, the KRFA was organized to promote traditional Korean values, culture and the unity of the Korean people. At the installation ceremony True Parents each were presented with an ornate Korean traditional crown. In his inaugural address True Father acknowledged Korea’s “matchless respect for Heaven, loyalty, filial piety and etiquette,” but stated, “Clan-level root consciousness should be sublimated for a higher root consciousness … of all humanity.” He called upon the association to “extend our love relationships to overcome the conflicts of this age, demolish barriers of age-long disharmony and realize a harmonious world.” He emphasized that “the unification of South and North Korea should be accomplished on the foundation of homogeneity as one people through activating the root-finding movement of true love.”
 

June 25, 1950

The Korean War Begins

The Korean War broke out when the army of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The conflict pulled in China and the United States. Eventually, sixteen UN member nations provided troops to the South. The war continued for more than three years until the Korean Armistice Agreement (not treaty) was signed on July 27, 1953. The hostilities resulted in a death toll of over 1.2 million. True Father was in Heungnam prison camp at the war’s outbreak. Following their landing at Incheon led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, UN and South Korean forces fought their way north, subjected Heungnam prison and factory complex to a massive aerial bombardment and liberated True Father after two years and eight months of confinement. According to Unification teaching, the division of the peninsula and the Korean War were deeply intertwined with providential history and True Father’s mission.
 

June 25, 1965

True Father Meets Dwight D. Eisenhower

True Father met for 45 minutes with former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower at his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, office as part of his first world tour.  He was accompanied by Mrs. Won Bok Choi, Col. Bo Hi Pak, Kenji “Daikon” Ohnuki and Gordon Ross. True Father noted that the day marked the 15th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. In their discussion True Father focused attention on three points: the need for a strong anticommunist ideology and movement; the need to bring a halt to moral decay; the need for an active, dynamic religion. President Eisenhower agreed, saying: “Man is a spiritual being. We must bring to bear a greater moral strength based on moral law to stand against the communists. It will take the vigor of youth to do this.” True Father presented the former U.S. president with several gifts, and President Eisenhower wished him the “greatest success.”

True Father and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

June 25, 1985

Rally for Religious Freedom

More than eleven hundred ministers from a broad range of denominations gathered from around the country in Washington, D.C., to affirm religious freedom and protest the unjust imprisonment of True Father at Danbury Federal Penitentiary. The rally was sponsored by the Coalition for Religious Freedom and the University Alliance for God and Freedom. Across from the White House, several ministers held handcuffed arms high in the air and a mock jail cell held a gagged woman dressed in white with an inscription that read, “Lady Justice Imprisoned by Blind Government Officials.” This was one of a series of rallies and conferences that led up to True Father’s release on August 20, 1985.

The Rally for Justice and Religious Freedom took place on June 25, 1985.

The Rally for Justice and Religious Freedom took place on June 25, 1985.

June 26, 1984

Hearing on Religious Freedom

After the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution hearing, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch and True Father shake hands.

After the Court of Appeals denied True Father’s appeal and upheld his eighteen-month sentence for tax evasion, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution convened a hearing on religious freedom. Chaired by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the hearing looked into whether the verdict in True Father’s case had been a violation of religious freedom. More than three hundred invited persons and observers as well as media crews were present. In his prepared remarks, True Father stated, “In 1971, God called me to come to America and … for the last 12 years I have given my heart and soul and every drop of sweat and tears for the sake of this nation.” He listed a number of the vast array of projects undertaken by the movement at the cost of “several hundred million dollars,” denied that he had defrauded the U.S. government of a few thousand dollars, and expressed gratitude that God was “using me as an instrument to lead the fight for religious freedom and to ignite the spiritual awakening of America.”
 

June 26, 1994

Dr. Theodore Shimmyo Inaugurated as Second UTS President

Dr. Theodore Shimmyo was inaugurated as the second president of the Unification Theological Seminary at the seminary’s 18th commencement exercises. He succeeded the seminary’s first president, Dr. David S.C. Kim, who had served for nineteen years since the seminary’s founding in 1975. Dr. Shimmyo, a graduate of the seminary’s first class, had been a professor of systematic theology and assistant academic dean. In his acceptance speech, “A Place Where Leaders Are Educated,” he pledged to “make sure that this seminary serves the rest of the Unification community, this nation and the world, with a desire to shoulder their burdens.”

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of June 22 to 28.

A Pioneer of Peace

This week in history: July 20-26

• The first 40-day pioneer witnessing tradition began
• True Father Enters Danbury Prison
• True Father launches the forty-day National Prayer and Fast for the Watergate Crisis
• True Father establishes 120 holy grounds throughout the world.
   

July 20, 1957

40-Day Pioneer Witnessing Tradition Begins

The Unification Church’s 40-day pioneer witnessing tradition began on July 20, 1957 with member-pairs being sent to 120 villages and towns throughout the Republic of Korea. Prior to setting out for the witnessing condition, members fasted for 7 days. Thus, the tradition of a 7-day fast began at that time. In addition, 40-day training sessions for core church leaders began in 1957. During the 40-day period, True Father made a condition of visiting each pioneer, giving them encouragement as an itinerant worker (IW). He traveled in a World War II jeep for that purpose. Members had little or no money and ate barley rations rather than rice. The first 40-day pioneer witnessing condition bore fruit in subsequent summer and winter 40-day pioneer witnessing not only in Korea, Japan, the United States and elsewhere.
 

July 20, 1984

True Father Enters Danbury

Having exhausted all of his appeals, including a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court, True Father entered Danbury Federal Correctional Institution on July 20, 1984. He would remain there until July 4, 1985 when he was moved to Phoenix House, a halfway facility in Brooklyn where he served out the reminder of his 13 month incarceration. Prior to departing from East Garden, True Father spoke to gathered members. He told them, “This is a glorious, victorious and historical day” and asked them not “to send me off in tears” unless they were “tears of determination, telling me, ‘Trust us. We are going to bring 100 times greater victory in the days to come.’” He said, “Wherever I go, whether it is a high place or a low one, my life will be the same life” and noted “I am going to prison on the worldwide level at this time,” having already gone to prison on the individual, family and national levels.

July 22-24, 1974

Three-Day Fast for the Watergate Crisis

True Father launched a forty-day National Prayer and Fast for the Watergate Crisis (NPFWC) in late 1973. Stating that “the crisis for America is a crisis for God,” True Father directed a multi-faceted campaign that included publication of his “Answer to Watergate” statement, rallies, letter-writing, leafleting in all fifty states and eventually a meeting with then President Richard Nixon. True Father was especially concerned that the United States stands unified and strong in the face of communist aggression. In the end, the Watergate tapes doomed the Nixon presidency.

Nevertheless, True Father mobilized 610 members for a 3-day fast and vigil on the steps of the U.S. Capitol at the height of the crisis from July 22-24, 1974. Those participating wore placards with a quotation from True Father’s Watergate statement on the back and a picture of the elected or appointed official for whom they were praying on the front. The vigil received national exposure. Seventy-six congressmen and five senators came out to meet the person praying for them. Newspapers across the nation carried pictures and interviews in over 350 stories. Local television stations and all three broadcasting networks showed film of the event and described it in their newscasts. Among the news magazines sending their own reporters to cover the vigil were Time, Newsweek, New Republic, U.S. News and World Report, New Yorker, and the Washingtonian.
 

July 24, 1963

Holy Blessing of 124 Couples

True Father noted that the 36 Couples, 72 Couples and 124 Couples “are one team which cannot be separated.” Providentially, the 124 Couples (sometimes referred to as 120 Couples) represented Jesus’ 120 disciples and signified the nations of the world. The 124 Couple Blessing was one of the conditions by which True Father undertook his first world tour, establishing 120 holy grounds throughout the world. The ceremony was conducted in a community hall and couples paraded through Seoul in a convoy of cars, thereby testifying to the growth of the church before Korean society.

The site of the helicopter crash suggests a true miracle of True Parents’ survival.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of July 13 to 19.

A Culture of Peace

This week in history: July 13-19

• The first Peace Cup soccer tournament was held.
• True Father was sentenced for tax evasion, leading to millions supporting an appeal.
• True Parents launched the Abel Women United Nations.
• True Parents miraculously survived a helicopter crash.
   

July 15, 2003

First Peace Cup Soccer Tournament

True Parents launched the first Peace Cup Soccer Tournament from July 15 to 22, 2003. One year earlier, the World Cup, soccer’s most prestigious tournament, had been staged in Asia for the first time, jointly hosted by Korea and Japan. At that time, “soccer fever” gripped Korea, not only because it was a co-host nation but also because the Korean national team made it past the traditional soccer powers to the semi-finals. After that tournament, True Father announced the establishment of the Peace Cup and said that Brazilian soccer great Pele had promised to support its work of reconciliation within the world community. The first Peace Cup tournament brought eight professional soccer clubs to Korea, including Korea League champion Seongnam Il Hwa, the team True Father had founded in 1989. The inaugural tournament champion and $2 million prize-winner was PSV Eindhoven (the Netherlands).
 

July 16, 1981

True Father Sentenced to Prison in the United States

Following what was described as “the most intensive and expensive criminal tax investigation of any religious figure in U.S. history” and a six-week trial riddled with procedural irregularities, on May 18, 1981, True Father was found guilty of tax evasion and obstruction of justice. On July 16 he was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $25,000 fine plus costs. This marked the beginning of a broad-based movement for religious freedom which eventually resulted in briefs filed by organizations representing 120 million Americans, that supported True Father’s appeal of his conviction.
 

July 16, 2012

True Parents Launch the Abel Women UN

True Parents inaugurated the “Abel Women UN” at the Cheongshim World Peace Center at Cheongpyeong Lake in Korea on July 16, 2012. Women representing 193 nations, most of them members of the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), attended. In his speech True Father stated:

True Father speaks at the establishment of the Abel Women United Nations.

In history up to now, we have depended on governmental organizations centered upon men to bring global peace. Now, however, to surmount the limitations they have demonstrated, I believe that a women’s peace movement … should take root as the new system resolving problems. … That’s why today’s inauguration of the Abel Women UN is absolutely necessary.

He envisioned women as “the central axis in building a century characterized by its loving, peaceful culture.” The Inaugural Rally for the Abel Women UN concluded True Father’s public ministry. It was, as True Mother later noted, “the last providential event … [he] hosted on earth.”
 

July 19, 2008

True Parents Survive Helicopter Crash

The site of the helicopter crash suggests a true miracle of True Parents’ survival.

True Parents reunite with their grandchildren following the helicopter crash.

True Parents miraculously survived a fiery helicopter crash near the Cheongpyeong Peace Palace. They were returning from a meeting in Seoul, along with ten members, three of their young grandchildren and three crew members, when they encountered a fog bank as they approached the heliport. When the pilot attempted to take the craft up and out of the pitch darkness, the helicopter tail struck a tall tree, causing it to plow through the woods at treetop level for a hundred and fifty yards. It finally hit a large tree and crashed in a muddy wooded area near a small stream. An urgent effort to escape the already burning helicopter ensued. Two security staff lifted True Parents through the hatch, which fortunately was still accessible. The grandchildren next were lifted up through the same exit. The remaining members then exited and everyone sought cover. Twenty minutes after the crash landing, the helicopter exploded. Amazingly, no one was seriously injured. True Father referred to their survival as “a miracle from God.”

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of July 13 to 19.

Chosen By God

This week in history: July 6-12

• True Father declared his messiahship publicly for the first time.
• Kyung Yu Moon, True Father’s father, was born.
• Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo returns to his wife, Maria Sung.
   

July 6, 1992

True Father Publicly Declares His Messiahship

True Father publicly declared his messiahship for the first time in a speech delivered to Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP).

True Father publicly declared his messiahship for the first time in a speech delivered to Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) and Korean civic leaders in Chungju, Korea. This was the first of four major gatherings that took place from July 6 to 9, 1992, in Korea’s Seoul region, the southeast region, the southwest region and the mid-Korea region. In his speech, “The Reappearance of True Parents and the Ideal Family,” True Father stated:

“God chose me to be the Messiah. … I have fulfilled my mission as the Lord of the Second Advent, Savior and the True Parent. I am proclaiming this in this place because the time has come to do so. Those who accept this will be blessed. If this race listens to me, how good that will be for the country. How good it would be, if the statesmen listen to me.”

True Father declared his messiahship on the worldwide level at the first World Culture and Sports Festival (WCSF) held in Seoul from August 19 to 30, 1992.

The Blessing of 2,075 couples at Madison Square Garden, New York on July 1, 1982.

July 11, 1893

True Father’s Father Is Born

According to the inscription on his tombstone, Kyung Yu Moon, True Father’s father, was born on July 11, 1893. True Father notes in his autobiography that he could sing from memory the Christian hymnal which consisted of more than 450 pages, that he was not good at collecting debts but honored his pledge to repay debts, “even if it meant selling the family cow,” and that he was large in stature and strong. True Father stated, “The fact that at age 90 I’m still able to travel around the world and carry on my work is a result of the physical strength I inherited from my father.”
 

July 12, 2006

Archbishop Milingo Returns

Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and Maria Sung receive the Holy Marriage Blessing.

True Parents blessed Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia to Maria Sung of South Korea in a Holy Blessing of Religious Leaders on May 27, 2001. In August 2001, Milingo announced that he would leave his wife, whom he now loved “as a sister,” and asked her to respect his wishes. He then departed on a thirteen-month penitential retreat in Argentina and receded from public view over the next four years, until resurfacing dramatically at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2006. Milingo said he had lived through five years of “doubts and difficulties” and said, “The shadow of Maria Sung always hung over me.” He stated that he was reuniting with his wife and embarking on an “independent charismatic ministry” to reconcile married priests with the Catholic faith.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of July 6 to 12.

Declarations and Blessings

This week in history: June 15-21

• The Washington Declaration was the second of three declarations made by True Parents on interreligious peace.
• 2,075 couples were blessed in marriage
• True Father announced the Declaration Day of God’s Eternal Blessing.
• True Father held a Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture reading) for nearly 24 hours.
• The Ewha Womans University campaign of defaming Unificationists led to True Father’s arrest.
• 1,440,000 second-generation Christian youth were blessed in marriage.
• True Father was transferred from the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution to Phoenix House.
• Newspapers around the nation began publishing “A Cloud of Witnesses” spirit world messages.

June 29, 2003

The Washington Declaration

This was the second in a series of thee declarations—the others being the Jerusalem Declaration (May 18, 2003) and the Seoul Declaration (August 15, 2003)—which True Parents offered on the foundation of the first, second and third Israels. Each of the declarations focused on interreligious reconciliation and peace. Together they led to True Parents’ Declaration Ceremony for the Beginning of the Nation of the Fourth Israel on August 20, 2003.

July 1, 1982

Holy Blessing of 2,075 Couples

A large percentage of the American Unification movement—2,075 couples, or 4,150 persons in all—participated in a record-setting Blessing officiated by True Parents at New York’s Madison Square Garden arena. This number eclipsed the previous record of 1,800 couples married by True Parents in Seoul in 1975, which was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest mass wedding in history. The Blessing was preceded by the Matching of 705 couples in May 1979, 843 couples in December 1980, and 653 couples in June 1982. More than 60 percent of the couples were either interracial or intercultural. With this event, the church in America went virtually overnight from being a movement of primarily single people to one of married people.

The Blessing of 2,075 couples at Madison Square Garden, New York on July 1, 1982.

July 1, 1991

Declaration Day of God’s Eternal Blessing

True Father announced the Declaration Day of God’s Eternal Blessing at a special ceremony at True Parents’ residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Korea. He declared that members now have the authority to give God’s blessings through the tribal messiahship providence. He said that blessed families no longer belong to any nationality but are members of the Royal Family. He advised members to create a new spiritual attitude and train themselves to overcome their fallen nature in working with their hometown communities.

July 1, 2010

True Father Holds a 23.5-Hour Hoon Dok Hwe

True Father, at age 90, hosted a historic twenty-three-and-a-half-hour Hoon Dok Hwe, speaking on the topic of “God is the Owner and Victor” to Japanese women participating in a forty-day workshop for “world ocean leaders” at Blue Sea Garden in Yeosu, Korea.

On July 1 at Blue Sea Garden in Yeosu, Father hosted Hoon Dok Hae for twenty-three and a half hours.

July 4, 1955

True Father Arrested in Ewha Womans University Incident

In late 1954 and early 1955, the newly founded Unification Church witnessed successfully on the campuses of Ewha Womans University and Yonsei University in Seoul. Nearly 400 students connected to the church, at which point Ewha President Helen Kim and Vice President Maria Park spearheaded a crackdown. Five Ewha University faculty members who had joined the church, including Dr. Young Oon Kim and Won Bok Choi, were fired. Students were given the choice to discontinue association with the church or be expelled. Fourteen students accepted expulsion. Finally, as a result of an orchestrated defamation campaign, True Father, Won Pil Kim, Church President Hyo Won Eu and two of Mr. Eu’s relatives were arrested. True Father spent three months in Seoul’s Seodaemun prison before being freed on appeal.

True Father with expelled students.

July 3, 2002

Holy Blessing of 1,440,000 Second-Generation Christian Youth and World Religious Youth

True Parents officiated at a series of Interfaith Marriage Blessings centered on the American Clergy Leadership Conference (established in 2000) and their “We Will Stand in Oneness” 50-state speaking tour (2001). The first of these, on May 27, 2001, was an Interfaith Marriage Blessing of sixty clergy couples presided over by True Parents in the Cotillion Room of the Hilton Hotel in New York City, which included, most prominently, Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. The second, on April 27, 2002, was a blessing of 144,000 clergy couples, 700 of whom gathered as representative couples at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The third, on July 3, 2002, was the Holy Blessing of 1,440,000 second-generation Christian youth and world religious youth. Again, 700 couples jammed the Sheraton National Hotel. A member of Congress offered a congratulatory address. World religious representatives, including a Native American chief, offered prayers. There were 40 couples from the Nation of Islam, 20 Sikh couples and 20 Hindu couples, in addition to other groups who “brought their lineages before heaven.”
 

July 4, 1985

True Father Is Transferred from Danbury to Phoenix House

After serving nearly 12 months at Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut, True Father was transferred to Phoenix House, a halfway facility in Brooklyn, New York, where he served the final 45 days of his 18-month sentence, getting five months off for good behavior. True Father was permitted to leave the house at 7:00 each morning and was required to return by 11:00 p.m. During the day, he was free to direct church affairs.

There is a round of hugs as True Father is transferred to Pheonix House.

July 4, 2002

“A Cloud of Witnesses: The Saints’ Testimonies to the True Parents”

Leading newspapers in all fifty states began publishing “A Cloud of Witnesses” spirit world messages in ad space purchased by the Unification movement. The spirit world messages were the result of “seminars in the spirit world,” initially for the four religious founders (Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad) and subsequently for “120 Christians who illuminated history,” 120 leaders each from Buddhist, Confucian and Muslim traditions, and 120 communists. The messages also included a “Letter from God.” The seminars were led by Dr. Sang Hun Lee (who died in 1997) and channeled through Mrs. Young Soon Kim. True Father authorized the messages, stating they “should be considered to be from me.” The “cloud” testimonies were direct about True Parents’ position as the savior of all humankind and controversial among clergy associated with the movement. However, they also provided an opportunity for education. The movement convened National Ministers Workshops for several hundred clergy. As one leader put it, “The trial of the Cloud of Witnesses led to a Divine Principle movement within the clergy.”

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of June 29 to July 5.

Our Missions and the Path of Life

This week in history: June 15-21

• True Mother is presented with a special award following her World Speaking Tour
• Korean-born Unificationist, Mr. Nishikawa, is smuggled into Japan to begin his missionary work
• True Parents receive honorary doctorates from the Unification Theological Seminary
   

June 14, 1999

Special Award to True Mother

True Father presented True Mother with a special award following completion of her World Speaking Tour in which she promoted true family values globally in 80 locations, including 24 speeches in the United States. True Mother spoke on “The Path of Life for All Humankind.” The award was also presented on the foundation of True Mother’s absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience in being “victorious over a suffering course of restoration through indemnity known only to Heaven” and for having “fulfilled the mission of a true child in front of Heaven, a true wife in front of her husband, and the mission of a true parent in front of her children.”

June 15, 1958

Mission to Japan Begins

Mr. Sang ik (Bong-choon) Choi, known to Japanese members as Mr. Nishikawa, departed Korea to begin the mission to Japan. Because Korea and Japan had not yet established diplomatic relations, he was forced to smuggle into the country as a stowaway aboard a ship. He was arrested but avoided deportation by fasting to induce illness. He escaped after being transferred from prison to a medical clinic and successfully planted the Unification Church in Japan. In 1964, he was again arrested and this time deported. He then began mission work in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Missionary Choi and participants during the first special workshop held in Japan in 1963.

June 21, 2001

UTS Awards Honorary Doctorates to True Parents

Unification Theological Seminary awarded its first honorary doctorates in its history to True Parents who were present for Seminary’s 25th commencement exercises. Their citation read in part, “They have introduced the vision of a world based on true love. They have created a theology of heart that resolves the chaos of theology and philosophy. They are leading humankind centered on the living God and the love of family …” Drs. Lee Kyung-june, President of Sun Moon University and Neil Albert Salonen, President of the University of Bridgeport, placed True Parents doctoral hood upon them, representing the bonds of kinship between the three primary institutions of higher education built by True Parents. True Father delivered the traditional “Founder’s Address,” speaking for nearly four hours, likely a record for graduation ceremonies anywhere. He issued a call for the Seminary to maintain its founding vision as an interreligious school. He also explained the importance of lineage, challenging the school to provide its students a grasp of the innermost core of God’s heart and truth which culminates in true love and life being incarnated and carried forth.

The first degrees in the regular commencement were conferred upon Hyun Jin and Joon-sook Moon who graduated magna cum laude with the highest grade point averages in the class. Ten days prior to the awards ceremony, on June 11, a bolt of lightning destroyed the five-foot cross that had stood on the chapel for 70 years. Upon hearing of its demise, True Father said it is now time for all crosses to be removed.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of June 15 to 21.

Building the Capitol for a Nation of Peace

This week in history: June 8-14

• True Parents conducted the 1998 Holy Marriage Blessing of 360 million couples worldwide
• True Parents held the Opening Ceremony for the Cheon Jeong Gung
• True Father appeared on the cover of Newsweek International
   

June 13, 1998

The 360 Million Couples Holy Marriage Blessing

True Parents conducted the Holy Marriage Blessing in 1998 as the first-stage blessing of 360 million couples worldwide. The main venue was Madison Square Garden in New York City, with satellite feeds to 195 countries. More than 500 buses transported participants, including more than 120 ministers—with 14 buses from Chicago alone. The arena rapidly filled with an estimated 20,000 people. Inside the hall, a 2,000-voice ecumenical choir electrified participants with its performance of “Amazing Grace” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.” At the main Blessing ceremony, there were 2,824 matched couples, including 65 Unificationist-born couples. Blessing 1998 was distinctive in that it included spirit world blessings. Four Korean women elders were blessed as wives on earth to four major saints of the spirit world. True Parents also extended the “pre-Blessing” to 16 billion spirit world couples. A special group of 34 spirit world couples included some of the greatest saints and worst criminals of history.

June 13, 2006

Building the Capitol for a Nation of Peace

True Parents presided over the Opening Ceremony for the Cheon Jeong Gung Museum on Cheonseong Mountain near Cheongpyeong Lake. Approximately 5,000 people participated in the main ceremony, and another 25,000 people watched the event through screens set up in different areas throughout the Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center. Prior to the ceremony, thousands of Unificationists from 147 countries participated in week-long festivities from June 6 to 12.

Unificationists throughout the world contributed funds for the Cheon Jeong Gung’s construction. The building itself is a massive structure, its dome some 80 meters high, with 30-ton, 48-meter white granite columns, built into the side of Cheonseong Mountain. Situated midway between Seoul, South Korea, and Pyongyang, North Korea, it was to be the “capitol building” of Cheon Il Guk. True Father delivered a message on the occasion, “Cheon Il Guk Is the Ideal Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace,” in which he outlined the “fundamental duties and mission that every citizen of Cheon Il Guk should understand and live by as they walk the way of Heaven.”

The Cheon Jeong Gung is home to a museum housing artwork and objects that hold historical importance or express Unification Thought and the ideals of peace. It is seen as a holy place, and many have made pilgrimages there because of its spiritual significance.
 

June 14, 1976

True Father on the cover of Newsweek International

True Father being interviewed for the Newsweek magazine article.

True Father posing for the cover of Newsweek magazine’s June 14, 1976, international edition.

True Father granted an interview to Newsweek International’sexecutive and general editors. Excerpts from their three-hour conversation were published as part of a cover story on the Unification Church.  

In the interview, True Father explained the origins of the Unification Church and its mission, saying: “My new revelation has made the Will of God crystal clear. And what is that Will? It is to save the world. So the Unification Church is not another denomination—it’s a movement to save the world, and through the teaching of the word of God, each individual in our movement becomes absolutely clear about the concept of the God-centered individual, the God-centered family, the God-centered nation and the God-centered world.”

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of June 8 to 14.

This Week in History, June 1-7

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of June 1-7.

June 1, 1976

America Is God’s Hope: The Yankee Stadium Rally

Thirty-eight years ago, our beloved True Father gave a public speech at Yankee Stadium in New York. He gave an urgent appeal to America to turn back to God. Yankee Stadium was the first of two major rallies held in 1976 as part of the movement’s Bicentennial God Bless America Festival.  The second was held at Washington Monument on September 18. True Father compared himself at Yankee Stadium to a “doctor” or “firefighter” who came from the outside to help America meet its third great “test” as a nation, that of “God-denying” communism.

Unificationist share a brief anecdote about the day of the speech.

True Father takes the stage at Yankee Stadium.

A rainstorm with strong winds hit the stadium prior to the start of the rally, blowing away many of the decorations. Unificationists rose in their seats or danced on top of the Yankee Stadium dugouts, singing “You Are My Sunshine” until the storm subsided. Approximately 45,000 people attended.

At the time, True Father’s message was translated as “God’s Hope for America,” but recently the original text of the speech in Korean was located. The title that True Father himself chose was “America Is God’s Hope!” which adds even more meaning to this historic and providential message. A 25-minute video of historical footage at the Yankee Stadium Rally can be viewed here. True Father’s entire message is narrated. He declares his message in his own words in the video at around the 12:00 minute mark. To read the entire speech, click here.
 

June 4, 1962

72 Couples Holy Marriage Blessing Is Held

True Parents held the second major Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony after the original 36 Couples Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony on June 4, 1962. They blessed in marriage 72 couples. Providentially, these 72 couples are understood to represent Cain and Abel’s restored families in relationship to the 36 couples who represent the original ancestors. They also correspond to Jesus’ 72 disciples. According to True Father, “Through the unity of the 72 couples representing Cain and Abel with the 36 couples representing Adam and Eve, all providential requirements for the family have been met, and the restoration of the family has been completed.” The way was opened for expansion of the providence beyond the family.
 

June 6, 1946

True Father arrives in Pyeongyang, North Korea

True Father went to Pyeongyang, North Korea, in obedience to God’s revelation that he “Go across the 38th parallel! Find the people of God who are in the North” (As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, p. 84). True Father, who was then 26, had set out to pick up rice and was concerned for his wife and his first son, who was born only a month earlier, when he received this revelation. True Father has said, “God’s commands are very serious, and they must be followed without reservation or hesitation.” He took nothing with him except his Bible. Christianity had set down its roots deeply in Pyeongyang, and it was known as “the Jerusalem of the East.” However, it was then under communist occupation and more than a million refugees already had fled to the South. Upon arrival, True Father began his ministry in the North.
 

June 7, 1975

The World Rally for Korean Freedom

The World Rally for Korean Freedom, sometimes referred to as the Yeouido Island Rally, was held on June 7, 1975. True Father spoke on “Korea in the World” to a crowd that was estimated at between 600,000 and 1.2 million on the Yeouido Island Plaza in Seoul.

Audience members at the World Rally for Korean Freedom.

The World Rally for Korean Freedom in Yoido, Seoul.

The immediate context for the rally was the fall of Cambodia and Vietnam to communist forces in late April of that year. Convinced that Kim Il Sung, at the time the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was trying to invade South Korea by taking advantage of the Indochina situation, True Father determined to stage a massive rally “not only in the name of the people and humankind, but also in the name of God.”

Korean, Japanese, American and European Unificationists who were members of the International One World Crusade (IOWC) distributed some 5 million leaflets, and as many as 1,700 chartered buses were used for transport from local cities and provinces. The rally itself was a staggering spectacle. A million Korean flags were distributed, and 2,400 police were mobilized for crowd control. True Father proclaimed that “enthusiastic youths from 60 different countries” would “defend this country to the last, at the cost of their lives.” Noting that “world Unificationists” of the Unification Church regard Korea as “their religious fatherland and holy land,” he warned that if “North Korea provokes a war against the South Korean people,” his followers would organize a “Unification Crusade Army” and “take part in the war as a supporting force to defend both Korea and the free world.”

This Week in History, May 25-31

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of May 25-31.

May 20, 1984

• The First Day of All True Things

Unificationists celebrate eight major Holy Days throughout the year. The first four Holy Days that True Parents created relate to the order of creation (parents, children, the created things and God). The second four relate to events in Unification Church history (True Parents’ Birthday, the Nation of the Unified Cosmos, Day of God’s Eternal Blessing and the Cosmic Sabbath). The Holy Days involve beautiful traditions through which we commemorate the important victories in the course of restoring this world and humanity. They afford us the opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks to God and True Parents.

May 29, 2014 marks the 52nd anniversary of the Day of All True Things. This day celebrates all the good things that God created—from creation to the love in our families. On his Day of All True Things speech 35 years ago in 1979, True Father said, “Everything in creation exists for some certain purpose. Do you think they would feel good just being a commodity on the market, even if they were expensive, valuable commodities? Would they feel happy if many men and women came to watch and observe them? Do flowers exist to glorify themselves? Just as you do not see your own face, the petals of these flowers do not see themselves; they exist to serve something besides their own purpose. The flowers impart their fragrance to please someone else who comes to appreciate them.”

Many Unificationists have had pre-Holy Day celebrations this past Sunday. Many more will celebrate this coming Thursday and Sunday. Whether you celebrate at home or with your congregation, we wish everyone a happy Day of All True Things celebration!