Building the Capitol for a Nation of Peace

Sun Moon Peace Cup Inaugural Ceremony

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’s executive 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.