20th Anniversary: World Peace Marriage Blessing at the UN

FFWPU-USA

Today marks the 20th anniversary of a special “World Peace Marriage Blessing Ceremony” held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. For more than five decades, Marriage Blessing ceremonies have been officiated around the world by the late Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, co-founders of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), joining millions of people in marriage worldwide.

On January 27, 2001, Rev. Moon blessed in marriage 210 couples from 135 countries spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The couples, dressed in traditional ethnic garb and national costumes, gathered in the UN assembly room where they took an oath to establish eternal families based on true love and pledged their commitment to world peace. The blessing also served as a commemorative day to uphold the ideal of the family at the UN headquarters. 

In the previous year, during the Assembly 2000 conference at the UN in August 2000, Rev. Moon had emphasized the importance of establishing a religious assembly or interreligious council at the UN that would unite the religious and political spheres and support family values. The UN blessing in 2001 laid a foundation toward achieving the ultimate goal of establishing lasting world peace through ideal families.

Below is an excerpt from Rev. Moon’s speech “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace,” delivered August 18, 2000, at the UN headquarters in New York City.

Speech excerpt:

“…God calls upon us leaders, especially religious leaders, in hope that we will stand against the injustices and evils of the world, and bestow His true love upon the world. Hence, all people of faith must become one in heart in order to give full expression, both in words and actions, to God’s passionate desire for humanity’s restoration and peace.

World peace can be fully accomplished only when the wisdom and efforts of the world’s religious leaders, who represent the internal concerns of the mind and conscience, work cooperatively and respectfully with national leaders who have much practical wisdom and worldly experience about the external reality or ‘body.’ 

In this light, it is time for us to give serious consideration even to the prospect of restructuring the United Nations. For example, perhaps it is possible to envision the United Nations as a bicameral institution. The existing United Nations structure, composed of national representatives, may be regarded as a congress where the interests of each member nation are represented. 

However, I submit that serious consideration should be given to forming a religious assembly, or council of religious representatives within the structure of the United Nations. This assembly or council would consist of respected spiritual leaders in fields such as religion, culture and education. Of course, the members of this interreligious assembly will need to have demonstrated an ability to transcend the limited interests of individual nations and to speak for the concerns of the entire world and humanity at large.

The two chambers, working together in mutual respect and cooperation, will be able to make great advances in ushering in a world of peace. The wisdom and vision of great religious leaders will substantially supplement the political insight, experience and skill of the world’s political leaders… 

I have worked through many groups and organizations to educate people around the world about the meaning and value of true love and true families, transcending religious denominations and nationalities… My continuous investment in this area and ongoing efforts for dialogue and reconciliation over the last decades have demonstrated beyond any doubt that the strongest foundation for the unity of humanity is the universal and essential love generated through the ideal of the true family.” –Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon

To all the World Peace Marriage Blessing couples, a happy 20th anniversary!

You can read Rev. Moon’s full speech “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace” here.