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(Yonhap) -- An estimated 35,000 mourners attended an emotion-filled funeral for Unification Church leader and founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon in the church's main compound in Gapyeong, east of Seoul, on Saturday, according to the church.
Moon's family and followers wept as the casket was carried into the CheongShim Peace World Center, a church-owned sports and cultural center, for the funeral service.
Moon will be buried on Mount Cheonseong, overlooking the church's estate which has its own general hospital, museum and schools in Gapyeong.
The self-claimed "messiah" died on Sept. 3 at the age of 92 due to complications from pneumonia.
Among the mourners at the service were Lord Tarsem King, a member of the United Kingdom's House of Lords from the Labour Party, and former Albanian President Alfred Moisiu.
During the service, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, the seventh son and religious heir of the late founder, said the "indomitable spirit of the 'true father' is essential to overcoming all suppression and hatred remaining in the world."
He vowed to make full efforts to build a heavenly and idealistic nation based on the "life of true love" lived by his father.
There was also a tribute given by Kang Dong-suk, who chaired the 2012 Yeosu Expo Organizing Committee. "Many educational facilities built by the late Moon to cultivate elite students and his culture-arts activities along with worldwide corporate activities will root deeper and will be lush with leaves and fruits," he said.
Moon's third and oldest living son, Hyun Jin, who is in a legal feud with the church, did not attend the service.
The 43-year-old chairman of the Unification Church International (UCI) Group will hold a separate service in the United States where he now lives to remember his father, together with his family and close friends, according to sources.
Moon's family and followers wept as the casket was carried into the CheongShim Peace World Center, a church-owned sports and cultural center, for the funeral service.
Moon will be buried on Mount Cheonseong, overlooking the church's estate which has its own general hospital, museum and schools in Gapyeong.
The self-claimed "messiah" died on Sept. 3 at the age of 92 due to complications from pneumonia.
Among the mourners at the service were Lord Tarsem King, a member of the United Kingdom's House of Lords from the Labour Party, and former Albanian President Alfred Moisiu.
During the service, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, the seventh son and religious heir of the late founder, said the "indomitable spirit of the 'true father' is essential to overcoming all suppression and hatred remaining in the world."
He vowed to make full efforts to build a heavenly and idealistic nation based on the "life of true love" lived by his father.
There was also a tribute given by Kang Dong-suk, who chaired the 2012 Yeosu Expo Organizing Committee. "Many educational facilities built by the late Moon to cultivate elite students and his culture-arts activities along with worldwide corporate activities will root deeper and will be lush with leaves and fruits," he said.
Moon's third and oldest living son, Hyun Jin, who is in a legal feud with the church, did not attend the service.
The 43-year-old chairman of the Unification Church International (UCI) Group will hold a separate service in the United States where he now lives to remember his father, together with his family and close friends, according to sources.
The late Moon was born in Jongju, North Pyongan Province in North Korea, in 1920, and founded the Unification Church in 1954, one year after the Korean War ended in an armistice.
The church, officially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, now claims some 3 million followers in 194 countries.
It gained fame for conducting mass weddings among followers with one wedding ceremony involving 30,000 couples.
The controversial sect has built vast business and educational empires around the world, including 10 in South Korea alone, including a ski resort and a professional soccer team.
The church also has news media outlets including the Segye Times in South Korea, The Washington Times and the UPI news agency in the U.S. under its wing, in addition to an automaker in North Korea and a hotel and a university in the U.S.
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통일교 창시자 문선명 총재 장례식 엄수
지난 3일 향년 92세로 별세한 통일교 창시자 문선명 총재의 장례식이 15일 오전 10시 '통일교 성지(聖地)'인 경기도 가평 청심평화월드센터에서 엄수됐다.
'문선명 천지인참부모 천주성화식'이라는 명칭의 장례식에는 알프레드 모이시우 알바니아 전(前) 대통령을 비롯한 국내외 인사 3만5천명(통일교 추산)이 참석해 고인의 마지막 가는 길을 지켜봤다. '성화'는 통일교에서 타계를 의미한다.
이날 장례식에 앞서 오전 9시30분 통일교 기념박물관인 천정궁에 안치된 문 총재의 시신이 장례식장인 청심평화월드센터로 이송됐다.
신도 80여 명이 도열한 가운데 고인의 영정 사진과 영구(靈柩)가 차례로 장례식장에 입장했으며, 부인 한학자(69) 여사와 통일교 세계회장인 7남 문형진(33) 성화위원장 등 유족이 뒤를 따랐다.
장례식은 문 위원장의 성초 점화에 이어 천일국가 제창, 문 총재의 특별보좌관을 지낸 박보희 한국문화재단 이사장의 기도, 4남 문국진(42) 통일교 재단 이사장 겸 통일그룹 회장의 헌화, 생애·업적 소개 영상 상영 등의 순으로 진행됐다.
문 위원장은 성화사에서 "참아버님(문 총재)의 불굴의 정신은 세상에 남아있는 모든 억압과 증오를 극복하는 데 필요한 것"이라며 "참아버님이 보여준 참사랑의 모델적 삶과 비전을 중심으로 천일국 창건을 위해 전력투구하겠다"고 다짐했다.
강동석 여수세계박람회 조직위원장은 송사에서 "세계적인 기업 활동과 더불어 고인이 심어놓은 수많은 영재양성 교육기관과 예술·문화활동은 더욱 그 뿌리를 튼튼히 하고 무성한 잎과 열매를 맺어나갈 것"이라고 말했다.
타셈 킹 영국 상원의원과 모이시우 전 대통령도 송사를 통해 고인을 기렸으며 한일연합합창단의 송가, 유족·친족 대표·각계 대표의 헌화, 송영섭 일본총회장의 억만세 삼창 등이 이어졌다.
이후 고인은 천정궁이 위치한 천성산에 안장됐다.
한편 사실상 장남인 3남 문현진(43) 통일교세계재단(UCI)그룹 회장 겸 글로벌피스페스티벌(GPF) 재단 의장은 이날 장례식에 불참했다.
통일교 측과 갈등을 빚고 있는 문 회장은 지난 10∼11일 조문이 불발되자 12일 미국으로 출국했으며, 미국에서 가족, 지인 등과 별도 추모 예배를 할 것으로 알려졌다. (연합뉴스)
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