From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On 23 March 2004, at a congressional Ambassadors for Peace reception where more than 12 United States lawmakers were in attendance, Rev. Sun Myung Moon was crowned in what both church members and media commentators have called a 'coronation ceremony.'

On June 23, 2004 the Washington Post reported:

At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."^[1]

Moon announced that he would save everyone on Earth as he had saved the souls of even Hitler and Stalin. Moon said the reformed Hitler and Stalin were among those who vouched for him from the spirit world.

Contents 1 Media coverage 2 Attendees 3 External links 4 See also 5 References

The event, which also honored in lesser ways several dozen others, was not reported by the media at the time except for Moon's Washington Times; however, freelance journalist John Gorenfeld spent the next three months reconstructing the details of the event. The Washington Post and other newspapers later did report on the event. The New York Times editorial page compared the event to Roman emperor Caligula's alleged attempt to name his horse proconsul of Rome.

The awards ceremony was the grand finale of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification's coast-to-coast "take down the cross" tour, in which around 300 Christian ministers removed crosses from their churches, the idea being that the cross has been an obstacle to uniting religions.

Source^[2]

"Congressional Co-Chairs"

The invitation for the event lists six members of the United States House of Representatives as Congressional Co-Chairs. :

Danny K. Davis of Illinois	Sanford Bishop of Georgia
Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania	Chris Cannon of Utah
Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland	Harold Ford of Tennessee

"Invitational Committee"

A list of members of the Invitational Committee included :

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina	Rep. Eddie B. Johnson, of Texas
Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia	Rep. Phil Crane of Illinois
Former Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota	Charlie Black, Republican consultant, (whose PR firm represents Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress)
Howard A. Stephenson, of the Utah State Senate

Most of those named as in attendance later denied it, or said that they had no idea what was going to occur at the event, stating that they didn't expect a coronation but thought the awards dinner was only to honor activists from their home states as Ambassadors for Peace.

Davis, who had placed the crown on Moon's head, said "I'm not involved in any cult activities."

Weldon's office initially denied that he had attended, but retracted the statement after photos of him speaking were published. Weldon's spokesman Michael Conallen said he "was not there for the crowning" and "had no idea that the Reverend Moon was going to be at this event ... If we had known that Reverend Moon was going to attend the event, be crowned and make an unbelievably interesting speech, the congressman likely would not have attended."^[3] Weldon's press secretary Angela Sowa stated, "Apparently he was there, but we really had nothing to do with it. I don't think it's quite accurate that the Washington Times said that we hosted the event. We may have been a Congressional co-host, but we have nothing to do with the agenda, the organization, the scheduling, and our role would be limited explicitly to the attendance of the Congressman."

Bishop said he did not attend, adding "My Messiah is Jesus Christ." He accepted an award in absentia. Bishop had attended a previous event presided over by Moon's son, on February 4, 2004, at the Ronald Reagan Building.

Ford spokesman Mark Sherman denied any association with Moon, saying, "If we were contacted, it's not clear that they represented themselves as being with Reverend Moon's church."

Crane spokeswoman Tami Stough said he "was absolutely not there" that evening.

Spokeswoman Lisa Wright said that Bartlett was 'notified that he was a recipient by the Washington Times Foundation' (of an Ambassador of Peace Medal which was presented at the ceremony), but that Bartlett "does not recall" being present during Moon's speech. She added, "Congressman Bartlett will decline to attend future and similar events to receive awards from the Washington Times Foundation. ... There was no representation of personal involvement by the Reverend Moon in connection with the event."

Minnesota senator Mark Dayton said he merely "stopped by to greet" Minnesota Reverend Rosilyn M. Carroll who was to receive an honor; "I did not see anyone identified as a Rev. Moon during the brief time I attended the reception to visit with Rev. Dr. Carroll, nor did I see any award given to a Reverend Moon." He denied reserving the room or accepting an award.

Maryland representative Elijah Cummings's spokeswoman Devika Koppikar said the "only reason [Cummings] went was at the request of his constituent" Bishop Joseph Showell, who was receiving an honor; she added that Cummings did not support Moon's claim to be the Messiah.

• Where in Washington, D.C. is Reverend Moon?, For more information, including video footage of the event.

• Coronation
• List of messiah claimants
• Royal coronations in Poland
• Coronation of the British Monarch

1. ^ Babington, Charles; Alan Cooperman (June 23 2004). "The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception - Lawmakers Say They Were Misled". Washington Post: A01. 
2. ^ Host Committee (JPG). Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
3. ^ John Gorenfeld, "Moon Over Washington: Why are some of the capital’s most influential power players hanging out with a bizarre Korean billionaire who claims to be the Messiah?", The Gadflyer, June 9, 2004