Sun Myung Moon dies at age 92

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church, dies at 92.

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Sept. 19, 1974

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon gestures to a crowd of 2,000 in New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he preached for the rebirth of Christianity during a 40-city U.S. tour.

/ AP

Feb. 14, 1975

Moon officiates at a mass wedding in Seoul.

/ AP

Jan. 30, 1974

Moon is greeted by followers at Dulles International Airport.

Ellsworth Davis / The Washington Post

April 4, 1977

Visiting family members, left, stand at the entrance to the International Ideal City Ranch in Boonville, Calif. The ranch is the camp where followers of the Unification Church indoctrinate new recruits. Dana Gosney, a reporter for the Redwood City Tribune in California, spent two days at the camp and found “a regimentation that would, in its own special way, make military basic training seem like child's play.”

/ AP

July 1, 1982

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife stand before some of the 2,200 couples who were married in Madison Square Garden. The brides’ dresses were made of identical blue satin and lace while the grooms all wore navy blue suits and red ties. About a third of the couples included men and women of difference races or nationalities, in keeping with the Unification Church’s belief that interracial marriages can help end racism.

Marty Lederhandler / AP

July 2, 1982

Couples march in a mass wedding procession in Madison Square Garden as Moon presides over the ceremony, which included more than 2,000 couples. He served as matchmaker for the couples.

Marty Lederhandler / AP

June 26, 1984

Moon appears before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on religious freedom.

Lana Harris / AP

Moon leaves federal prison in 1985. He had been sentenced for tax evasion.

/ The Washington Post

Aug. 20, 1985

Moon’s wife, Hak-Ja Han, watches as he kisses a trophy given to him by Idaho state Rep. Deiter Boyer, left, in Washington. The trophy was presented as a tribute to the Korean-born evangelist, who was released from a halfway house in New York after serving a prison sentence for tax evasion.

Ron Edmonds / AP

Moon and his wife flank Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990.

/ Unification Church Photo

Aug. 25, 1995

Moon and his wife wave to some 40,000 believers and supporters during a wedding ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul.

Ahn Young-Joon / AP

Jan. 22, 2000

Moon cuts his birthday cake during his 80th birthday celebration at a hotel in Washington.

Tyler Mallory / AP

April 16, 2001

Moon enthusiastically addresses the congregation during a sermon at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. He embarked on a 50-state tour called “We Will Stand," which was designed to bring together people of different religions.

Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post

May 21, 2002

Moon, whose business interests included the Washington Times, joins a toast at a party celebrating the newspaper's 20th anniversary.

Rebecca D'Angelo / For The Washington Post

Sept. 14, 2002

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife walk down a red carpet as they are introduced during the Affirmation of Vows part of the Interreligious and International Couple's Blessing and Rededication Ceremony at New York's Manhattan Center. About 500 to 600 couples participated in the New York ceremony, and an estimated 21 million couples participated worldwide via a simulcast to 185 countries.

Stephen Chernin / AP

June 25, 2005

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon speaks during his “Now Is God’s Time” rally in New York.

John Marshall Mantel / AP

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