This Week in History, April 6-12

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 April 6-12.

April 11, 1990

• True Parents Meet Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev

Organizers of the 11th World Media Conference, which took place in Moscow in April 1990, learned by late afternoon on the day of True Father’s address to the conference, that President Gorbachev had given his approval for a meeting with True Father. Larry Moffitt, who helped organize the media gathering, noted that the “maximum victory” for the Moscow event “was defined early on as a cordial meeting between True Father and Gorbachev.” In fact, expectations had risen to the point that a failure to secure such an invitation would have been interpreted as a providential setback. Thus, organizers breathed a collective sigh of relief when True Parents, along with twenty-eight former presidents or prime ministers and several assistants, entered the Kremlin at 4:30 p.m. on April 11, 1990, and were seated in a conference room.

There was an initial meeting of President Gorbachev with all present, which was followed by a private meeting between the president, True Parents, one ambassador and a couple of senior staff. During the 90-minute open meeting, President Gorbachev said that the media conference was “very important” and expressed satisfaction that it had been “very successful so far.” True Father thanked him for the opportunity to come to Moscow, explained that all former heads of state at the table were supporting him, and urged him to consider the World Media Conference his “asset.”

Dr. Bo Hi Pak, who attended the half-hour private meeting in President Gorbachev’s personal office, reported that the president was “completely free, embracing and talkative.” The Segye Ilbo newspaper reported that President Gorbachev “asked Rev. Moon to help either directly or indirectly in the development of the Soviet Union by using the multi-national economic foundations and worldwide organizations of the Unification movement.”

April 10, 1992

• Inauguration of the Women’s Federation for World Peace

True Mother delivered the keynote address at a packed Seoul Olympic Stadium for the inauguration of the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) on April 10, 1992. There, she testified that “The Reverend Sun Myung Moon and I, Hak Ja Han Moon, standing in the position of the True Parents have walked the course of worldwide indemnity so that all humanity may be liberated from their bondage.” WFWP was established as a way to empower women to rally together under the banner of peace. In his Congratulatory Address, True Father proclaimed the beginning of the “Age of Women.” Thousands answered the call, and under the direction of True Mother, began a movement that would span the globe. Since its inception, WFWP has become a formidable voice in the struggle for women’s rights around the world. The organization holds forums at the United Nations, and continues to do service work and projects that encourage racial and religious reconciliation both locally and abroad.

True Father passed “all his victorious foundation” to True Mother during the founding WFWP rally.

April 10, 1992

• Participation of Muslims in the Blessing

On April 10, 1992, forty-two Muslim couples took part in a Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony of the Unification Church in Seoul, South Korea. The Blessing was the culmination of an Inter-Religious Leadership Seminar. True Father termed the participation of Muslims in the wedding “a miracle.” In fact, it was extremely significant, as it broke the religious barrier and opened the door for True Father to extend the Blessing to people of a faith other than Unificationism. This was a key stepping-stone towards expanding the providence of the Blessing and instilling inter-religious harmony as one of the Unification Church’s key pillars. In the years since, the Holy Marriage Blessing has been given to thousands of people of all races, nationalities, and religions.

April 10 to 19, 1985

• The First Interdenominational Conference for Clergy

In 1985, the Unification Church sponsored its first Interdenominational Conference for Clergy (ICC) in Korea and Japan. Between April 10-19, 64 ministers from 21 denominations attended the seminar under the theme, “True Father and Korea in the Providence of God.”

The conference came out of the many outreach activities that were spawned after True Father, while still incarcerated in Danbury Federal Prison, asked American Unificationists “to focus on educating 70,000 ministers,” and on that foundation,” to send 7,000 ministers to Japan and Korea.” This direction also led to the creation of the Confederation of the Associations for the Unification of the Societies of the Americas (CAUSA) Ministerial Alliance, the 300,000-videotape project, and many other projects.