Coronation time, again

Sun Myung Moon is getting crowned frequently these days. The last coronation I watched took place in February this year at the ‘Heaven and Earth Training Center’ in Chung Pyung, Korea.

The unification movement is well known for its outrageous ceremonies. Mass weddings, street blessings, taking down of crosses and now this, coronations of its founder and his wife. The most notorious one until now is probably the one in Washington D.C. where the crown was presented by a congressman.

But also remarkable was the one where a Jewish Rabbi presented the crown to the second coming of Christ.

I have looked around for theoretical background concerning these coronations. A few years back Sun Myung Moon presented a crown to God Himself in a ceremony in Chung Pyung. That fits in easily within the movement’s teaching that Satan’s time as the ruler has ended, reinforcing God’s kingship. Why now Sun Myung Moon receives crowns was not so clear to me.

The headquarter in USA didn’t answer my request for literature, but Chung Hwan Kwak, second in command of the movement, mentioned something during a talk on the Cheon Il Guk Leaders Conference. According to him, the coronations are ceremonies where the general membership and all mankind are supposed to inherit citizenship in Cheon Il Guk. That doesn’t clarify much except one thing: a coronation is a religious ceremony.

That certainly is the impression I get from the behavior of the man. It doesn’t look like somebody getting a kick out of being crowned king. It looks rather like something that you get done with quickly and then go on to greater things.

The coronation in Korea was the first one I saw with him present. Usually somebody else takes the crowns. The ceremony was gracefully short, shorter than a Sunday service. Sun Myung Moon and his wife came to the stage, put on some robes, somebody prayed, crowns were presented, somebody prayed again, crowns and robes taken off. Then he waved his hands and both left the stage. Total time: about 40 minutes.

The birthday party the next evening was something the old man enjoyed much more. About 300 people were invited – all Westerners plus a few Japanese and Koreans. In the front of the room was a large TV screen and there they showed a soccer match. The Moons seemed to cheer for a particular one. I first thought it was the one which the movement sponsors, but that didn't even play. Later I found out that one team had a player named Moon and that earned the support.

After about an hour into the banquet Sun Myung Moon started to walk around among the tables, talking to people. Like on the conference, he seemed to know many personally. Then some people started to sing songs. Later the Moons sang, too. I noticed that – unlike in earlier years – he didn’t try get his wife confused about the words. Back in those days, he used to make that joke every time the two sang in public.

Over the years I often heard - in chat rooms etc. - that the relationship between Sun Myung Moon and his wife is not so good. Indeed, she sometimes looks rather dry when she officiates events together with him. Also, every morning at 5:00 AM there is always this reading of texts either from the teaching or from Sun Myung Moon's speeches. The Moons always attend when they are around, but she always leaves after about 20 minutes. The old man sits through the entire hour and then still speaks for half an our or so.

I watched them closely that evening. See photos. I really think there is nothing wrong in the relationship of the couple.

The soccer match ended with a tie. The team of player Moon won the die, because they scored the last minute.

The birthday party was a full success. I think the coronation and the conference, too – no matter how uneventful. Nobody expects much from official events anyway. History is made some other time.
 

the old man