An Inheritance of Strength and Honor
This week in history, July 5-11:
- The Cross-Cultural Marriage Blessing Ceremony in the Sacred Reign of Peace is held (July 5, 2007)
- True Father declares his messiahship publicly for the first time (July 6, 1992)
- The Convention to Proclaim the Embodiment of God’s Word and the Era of the Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind is held (July 8, 2010)
- True Mother’s speaking tour in the United States begins (July 10, 1993)
- Kyung Yu Moon, True Father’s father, is born (July 11, 1893)
July 5, 2007
Cross-cultural Marriage Blessing Ceremony in the Sacred Reign of Peace
As part of the 2007 World Culture and Sports Festival (WCSF 2007), True Parents officiated an international marriage blessing at Yoo Gwan-soon Indoor Gymnasium in Cheonan, Korea (one hour south of Seoul) on July 5. Under the title, “2007 Cross-cultural Marriage Blessing Ceremony in the Sacred Reign of Peace,” the blessing brought 1,634 couples together in holy matrimony. The blessing was the 7th Phase of the International Cross-cultural Blessing of 400 Million Couples. The ceremony was broadcast through the internet, so many other couples participated indirectly from all around the world. Dr. Lee Soo-sung, former prime minister of Korea and H.E. Stanislav Shushkevich, former president of Republic of Belarus, offered congratulatory addresses. In his remarks, Shushkevich noted, “I had the privilege to be at the World Peace Blessing in 1992, when I was still head of state of Belarus,” he explained, “At that time we were so happy because of our new found freedoms. But looking back now fifteen years later I can say that freedom alone is not enough: we must have strong families and a strong moral structure if our nations are to prosper.”
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) 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.
July 8, 2010
The Convention to Proclaim the Embodiment of God’s Word and the Era of the Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind is Held
True Parents hosted the Convention to Proclaim the Embodiment of God’s Word and the Era
of the Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind at the Cheon Jeong (Original) Peace Palace in Korea on July 8, 2010. Two thousand overseas members attended including some 640 from Europe and 130 from the United States. The convention culminated True Parents proclamation of a new heavenly calendar, their Golden Wedding Anniversary and Seunghwa Memorial Festivals held at the United Nations and elsewhere earlier that year. In his speech, True Father
stated, “True Parents have already prepared the last words I will give to humankind” and noted, “I am leaving behind eight textbooks and teaching materials for humankind to use for all eternity. These are published in almost a thousand volumes.” He called upon blessed families to carry our Hoon Dok education, establish an absolute family, and to “inscribe in your hearts the fact that we have entered the era of the realm of the cosmic Sabbath.” Through this proclamation ceremony, True Father stated, “all the borderlines in the entire cosmos have been abolished.”
July 10, 1993
True Mother’s Speaking Tour in the United States Begins
True Mother set off on a 23-city U.S. speaking tour in Honolulu, Hawaii on July 10, 1993. She concluded it in Columbus, Ohio on July 31. Leaders including woman leaders from all walks of life came to each event. True Mother emphasized the beginning of the Completed Testament age and the role of women through her speech, “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age.” (Materials provided by the FFWPU History Compilation Committee)
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.”
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 5 to 11.