2022

October 14 2022: 8000 Holy Blessing 40th Anniversary France

This folder is mainly dedicated to the theme of the Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremonies of the Unification Church, in particular the event known as the ‘8000 Holy Blessing’ and its 40th anniversary (which points to 2022 for the blessings of 1982).

The content focuses on several mass wedding ceremonies and their anniversaries, with documents of various kinds:

The two major ceremonies (the 8,000 couples): The International Blessing of 2,075 couples, which took place on 1 July 1982 at Madison Square Garden in New York. And the Holy Marriage Blessing of 6,000 couples (the exact number was 5,837) held on 14 October 1982 at the Chamshil Gymnasium in Seoul. These two events are often grouped together under the title ‘8,000 Couples Holy Blessing’.

Other important blessings:

The ‘10.14’ Cosmic Blessing Ceremony on 14 October 2009 at Sun Moon University in Korea, which also celebrated the 90th birthday of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the 50th anniversary of his marriage.

The International Blessing of 30,000 couples in 1992 at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul.

Contents and Themes:

Texts and Prayers: Includes prayers of blessing (notably that of the 5,837 couples on 14 October 1982) and speeches by Reverend Sun Myung Moon on the meaning of marriage, the role of the ‘True Parents,’ the restoration of God's kingdom on Earth, and the importance of international marriages in transcending cultural and racial barriers.

Media Coverage and Reports: The file contains newspaper articles (UPI, Today's World) and press releases covering the events of 1982, including details about the participants (nationalities, fees, matchmaking), and mentioning the controversy and legal issues surrounding Reverend Moon.

Visuals: The file contains numerous images and videos (mp4, png, jpg files) of various Blessing ceremonies, including crowd photos, the 1998 ceremony in New York, and events in Korea.