The blessing — married in thousands.
Couples are matched, sometimes by the founders and sometimes days before, and married together in a stadium. Members describe it as the moment they joined a lineage rather than a household.
The blessing ceremonies became the movement's public image: Madison Square Garden in 1982, Seoul Olympic Stadium in 1992, thirty thousand couples at a time. Matching was traditionally done by Moon himself, sometimes from photographs, sometimes across languages, and couples might meet days before. The ceremony involves holy wine, an indemnity stick, and a three-day ceremony completed later. Members describe the matching as the deepest act of trust the movement asks for, and second-generation members increasingly ask to choose their own partner and be blessed afterwards, which the church now accommodates. The proportion of blessed marriages that end is not published.
The same ground, other faiths
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