True Parents Legacy

The Unification Church was founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in 1954 under the name Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC). On April 10, 1997, the organization officially changed its name to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU). This change was not merely cosmetic — it marked a fundamental shift in the movement's mission: from seeking the unification of Christianity to building an ideal world centered on God-centered families. The FFWPU is active in over 100 countries worldwide and continues to operate under this name today.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012) was born in what is now North Korea. He founded the movement that became globally known as the Unification Church, claiming to have received a divine revelation and to have spent decades in deep spiritual communion with God, Jesus, and saints in the spirit world. His life and teachings are documented across thousands of sermons spanning over five decades. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, his wife, is considered co-founder and was proclaimed by Rev. Moon himself as the second founder of the Unification movement during the 31st Parents' Day ceremony on March 27, 1990.

The name change from HSA-UWC to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification reflects the movement's core theological conviction: that lasting world peace cannot be achieved without unity, and unity begins in the family. As Rev. Moon taught, peace means making things level and becoming one — between North and South, East and West, rich and poor, man and woman. The family is the foundational unit through which this vision is realized. The FFWPU was founded on July 30, 1996, at its inaugural assembly in Washington, DC, and the word "Unification" was added to the name on April 8, 1997.

The Holy Marriage Blessing (Korean: 축복, Chukbok) is one of the most distinctive practices of the Unification movement. It is a marriage ceremony officiated by the True Parents — Rev. Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon — through which participants are said to change their lineage and establish a new covenant relationship with God. According to the teachings, the Blessing represents the bequeathal of full heavenly authority. The Holy Wine Ceremony symbolically converts the lineage inherited through the Fall.

The first Blessing took place on April 16, 1960, when three couples received the Blessing just after the True Parents' own Holy Wedding. The 36 Couples Blessing followed on May 15, 1961. Over the decades the Blessing expanded dramatically: 72, 124, 430, 777, 1,800, 8,000, 30,000, then 360,000, 3.6 million, and ultimately the goal of blessing 360 million couples was announced.

Hoon Dok Hae (훈독회), meaning "gathering for reading and learning," is a daily devotional practice established by Rev. Moon on October 13, 1997. Members gather — typically in the early morning — to read aloud from Rev. Moon's sermons and teachings, with the goal of internalizing the words and applying them to daily life. The Cheon Seong Gyeong, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, and the collected sermons are the primary texts used in this practice.

The Seunghwa Ceremony (성화식) is the Unification movement's equivalent of a funeral. The word "Seunghwa" means sacred ascension — the transition of the spirit from the physical world to a higher dimension. Rev. Moon taught that death, properly understood, is not a sorrowful occasion but a passage through the bridge of love to a higher-dimensional world. He introduced the Seunghwa Ceremony following the death of his son Heung Jin Nim in 1984, declaring that death had been overcome through love.

The Unification movement has always emphasized inter-religious harmony as essential to world peace. Rev. Moon founded multiple interfaith organizations, including the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace (IRFWP). He taught that conflict and discord between religions are among the greatest obstacles to a peaceful world. The Divine Principle itself builds upon the core truths of the Jewish and Christian scriptures while also encompassing the wisdom of Eastern traditions, including Confucian thought.

Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon (born 1943) is revered as True Mother and co-founder of the FFWPU. She is also co-founder of the Universal Peace Federation. Her speeches and messages — spanning from the early 1990s to the present — are preserved alongside Rev. Moon's teachings on tplegacy.net. She was first presented on the world stage through a speaking tour inaugurating the Women's Federation for World Peace (WFWP) globally. Since Rev. Moon's passing in 2012, she has continued to lead the global providence and address members and leaders worldwide.

The Family Pledge (가정맹세) was proclaimed by Rev. Moon on May 1, 1994, and became the guiding standard for all blessed families. It consists of eight pledges that members recite together, committing themselves to building families, tribes, and a world centered on God. The Pledge covers themes including living for the sake of others, establishing God's sovereignty on earth, restoring the original homeland, and fulfilling the duty of tribal messiahs.

The concept of True Parents is one of the most distinctive doctrines of the Unification movement. It holds that humanity, having lost its original parents through the Fall of Adam and Eve, requires the appearance of a new Adam and Eve in the flesh — a couple who have not fallen and who can restore the original parent-child relationship with God. Rev. Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon are referred to as the True Parents of humankind. Their Holy Wedding on April 11, 1960, is considered a historic event.

The primary texts include the Exposition of the Divine Principle (1966), the foundational doctrinal textbook; the Cheon Seong Gyeong, the Holy Scripture of Cheon Il Guk; the Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, a collection of public speeches on peace themes; and the Cham Bumo Gyeong, the third volume of Holy Scriptures. The Sermons of Rev. Sun Myung Moon — a Korean compilation spanning over five decades, with 600+ volumes — form the source from which all these scriptures were drawn.

Several aspects distinguish Unification teaching. First, rather than focusing on individual salvation after death, the movement centers on the restoration of the family as the fundamental unit of the Kingdom of Heaven. Second, the Divine Principle presents a detailed explanation of the Fall, history, and restoration. Third, God is understood not as a remote being, but as a Parent whose heart has been broken by the loss of His children. Fourth, the movement does not regard any single religion as the final destination, but teaches that all religions are meant to converge as humanity matures spiritually. The World Scripture anthology reflects this vision.

"Living for the sake of others" is the most practical expression of true love in the Unification tradition. Rev. Moon taught it not as a moral aspiration but as a law of the universe. He described it as the core principle by which God created everything: God gave fully and completely at the moment of creation, investing Himself for the sake of His object partners rather than for Himself. In practical terms, this means giving to others before thinking of oneself — in the family, in the community, and in the world — and doing so without expectation of return.

In Unification teaching, the Kingdom of Heaven is not primarily a place you go after death — it is a quality of relationship that begins in the family. Rev. Moon taught that the family is the central model for the Kingdom of Heaven: "The family is the training ground where people earn credits, all the way from an elementary school certificate to a doctoral degree." When you love your parents, your spouse, your children, and your siblings with true love centered on God, you are already living in the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven on earth — Cheon Il Guk — is therefore realized when every family becomes a God-centered family.

The moral life is centered on several interconnected principles. First, absolute sexual ethics — love between a man and woman belongs exclusively within the God-centered marriage relationship; purity before and fidelity within marriage are conditions necessary for inheriting God's lineage through the Blessing. Second, filial piety — deep devotion to parents, both physical and spiritual. Third, daily living for others. Fourth, the unity of mind and body — overcoming self-centered impulses and aligning every action with the conscience and with God's will. These principles are recited daily through the Family Pledge and absorbed through Hoon Dok Hae.

The family holds the most central place in Unification theology — not as a social institution, but as the original purpose of God's creation and the basic unit of the Kingdom of Heaven. Rev. Moon taught that God created human beings to have an ideal family — children who could grow in true love, marry, and become parents themselves, completing the four-position foundation of God, husband, wife, and children. Every relationship in the universe — parent and child, husband and wife, siblings, nations, even the relationship between God and humanity — reflects and expands upon the family model. The True Families: Gateway to Heaven and the Blessing and Ideal Family series explore this teaching in full.