21 Surreal Photos From A Moonie Mass Wedding
More than 3,500 couples participated in the first Unification Church mass wedding since the death of founder Sun Myung Moon five months ago.
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21 Surreal Photos From A Moonie Mass Wedding
Ellie Hall
1. Thousands of Unification Church members, known as “Moonies,” got married in a mass wedding in South Korea Sunday — the first since the death of controversial church founder Sun Myung Moon.
Image by Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
2. Rev. Moon’s 70-year-old widow, Hak Ja Han, presided over the “Blessing Ceremony.” Men and women from around the world traveled to Cheongshim Peace World Centre in Gapyeong, about 37 miles northeast of Seoul, to have their union blessed by “Mother Moon
Image by KIM JAE-HWAN / AFP / Getty Images
3. Mass weddings and arranged marriages have always been a staple of the church, which teaches that romantic love leads to sexual promiscuity, mismatched couples, and dysfunctional societies.
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
4. Although matchmaking responsibilities have shifted to parents in recent years, many couples still choose to have the church arrange their marriages. Of the followers married on Sunday, 400 were officially paired mere days before the ceremony.
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
5. Those who choose to be matched by the church must confirm under oath that they are virgins, and after their wedding the couple must refrain from sexual relations for a minimum of 40 days.
Image by Lee Jin-man / AP
6. The church’s preference for cross-cultural pairs means that newlyweds will often share no common language.
Image by Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
7. “I’ve been waiting for him all my life,” a bride from Trinidad and Tobago told AFP when asked about her Polish husband. “Language isn’t such an issue. We’re connected by the church.”
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
8. “We struggle a little to communicate right now,” an American groom agreed, referring to his Japanese bride. “We see it as an exciting challenge and proof of our faith.”
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
9. An additional 12,000 couples around the world participated in the ceremony via a live internet feed.
Image by Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
10. Members of the Unification Church acknowledge their “True Mother,” Hak Ja Han, who officiated the ceremony.
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
11. The Unification Church believes that through the “Blessing Ceremony,” couples are cleansed of humanity’s sin, as are their future children. It can be both a wedding and a rededication of vows.
Image by Lee Jin-man / AP
12. The ceremony consists of a recitation of four vows, an exchanging of rings, and a blessing with holy water.
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
14. Each couple vows to live a life of purity, follow the example set by Rev. Moon and his wife (who are referred to as the “True Family”), raise children in the church, and become “an ideal family which contributes to world peace.”
Image by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
17. Hak Ja Han, “Mother Moon,” sprinkles the church’s holy water onto newly married couples.
Image by Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
18. Newlyweds celebrate at the end of the ceremony.
Image by Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
21. Some couples celebrate in different ways than others.
Image by Lee Jin-man / AP
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