Thousands Tie the Knot in Worldwide Mass Wedding

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 14, 2009 — -- An estimated 34,000 brides and grooms around the world tied the knot today in a mass wedding organized by the Unification Church.

Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 89, officiated the ceremony at Sun Moon University in Asan, South Korea, where more than 25,000 newlyweds and church followers received a blessing from whom they worship as the "true parent."

Tens of thousands more Unification Church members from abroad participated in the mass wedding through live Internet broadcast and satellite television stations from their respective locations, according to Kim Sang Hee, press relations officer at the Unification Church headquarters in Seoul.

While some newlyweds were partnered with spouses chosen by Moon, the others were couples renewing their vows simply to be recognized and blessed by the church.

"These women and men here today who represent the 6 billion population of the world shall construct a peaceful home centered around God," Moon said.

Moon, a self-proclaimed messiah who says he was 15 when Jesus Christ called upon him to carry out his unfinished work, has courted controversy and criticism since founding the Unification Church in Seoul in 1954.