20,000 Couples Take Part in World’d Largest Mass Wedding

Members of the Unification Church, all around the world, took part in the world’s largest mass wedding officiated by reverend Sun Myung Moon, founder of the controversial church.

Over 20,000 people filled up the Sun Moon University campus, in Seoul, South Korea, to celebrate Sun Myung Moon’s 90th birthday and his 50th wedding anniversary with wife Han Hak-ja. Some of the couples had just met a few months before, while others came to renew their vows. Korean couples were joined by 20,000 other followers from all around the world, who tuned in via an internet link.

Sun Myung Moon took this opportunity to pass down leadership of the Unification Church to his children. Moon started the much contested cult in 1954, following a vision he had when he was just 15, where Jesus allegedly appeared to him and asked him to finish His work. The Korean leader performed his first mass wedding in the early 1960s and throughout the years officiated ceremonies between people who had never met each other before their wedding.

Critics stated this latest mass wedding proves followers of the Unification Church are brainwashed. Sun Myung Moon denied the accusation saying these days couples spend months getting to know one another, before they tie the knot.

Photos via csmonitor

mass-wedding

Lee Jin-man/AP

mass-wedding2

Lee Jin-man/AP

mass-wedding3

Lee Jae-Won/Retuers

mass-wedding4

Lee Jin-man/AP

mass-wedding5

Lee Jae-Won/Reuters

mass-wedding6

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

mass-wedding7

Lee Jae-Won/Reuters

Posted in Events, News        Tags: , , ,