Side-by-side
PolandvsUnited Kingdom
Two national histories of the Unification Movement, plotted on a shared year axis. Drawn from the movement's own published histories.
David S.C. Kim arrives in Swansea
Rev. David S.C. Kim enrols at Swansea University (then part of the University of Wales) and becomes the first person to introduce the Divine Principle in the United Kingdom. Among his early contacts is Rev. Joshua McCabe of the Apostolic Church, who travels to Korea for 80 days to study with Rev. Kim and helps with the first English translation of the Divine Principle.
Dr Young Oon Kim — first appointed missionary
Dr Young Oon Kim arrives in the UK as the first official missionary of the Unification Movement. In those days the organisation is called "The Unified Family". She has three months to lay the foundation for True Father's first visit.
True Father's first visit · Holy Ground in Kensington Gardens
Rev. Moon arrives at Heathrow from Madrid on 14 July, accompanied by Mrs Won Pok Choi and President Hyo Won Eu. On 15 July he chooses a damaged London plane tree in Kensington Gardens — near the Peter Pan statue — as the National Holy Ground, because "its damaged condition represented the state of the nation". His first recorded UK speech, "Our Mission is Great", is given on 17 July in a Mayfair house. Sir Anthony Brooke (the last Rajah Muda of Sarawak) is among the welcoming party of seven.
Sandi Pinkerton sent from the USA to pioneer London
After the Blessing of Holy Grounds worldwide, True Father sends Sandi Pinkerton from the United States to London, with Dr Young Oon Kim becoming responsible for the European Movement.
First UK centre at 17 Emperor's Gate, South Kensington
June Darby — witnessed to on holiday in Italy that August by Doris Walder (Orme) and Martin Porter — joins Sandi in London. The first centre is established at 17 Emperor's Gate.
HSA-UWC founded as a UK registered charity
June Darby, Evelyn Hardman, Patricia Hardman and Marion Dougherty register the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity as an educational charity in the UK. The movement soon outgrows Emperor's Gate and takes a seven-bedroom house in Streatham, south of the Thames.
True Father's second visit · with True Mother
True Father and True Mother — pregnant with their third son Hyun Jin Nim — visit London together for the first time. Forty members from across Europe squeeze into the Streatham centre "like sardines". During the visit Miss Kim consults with True Father on Blessing candidates; Doris Walder is matched to Dennis Orme, who has joined only a few months earlier. Members are asked to pray from midnight to 3 a.m. for 120 days for the new couple.
European Blessing of 8 Couples
Eight European couples — including Doris Walder & Dennis Orme — are blessed by True Father in Germany. This becomes the spine of European leadership for the next two decades.
Janusz M meets the Divine Principle in France
Janusz M, a strong Catholic and friend of the Catholic priest Jan Twardowski, travels to France to research new religious groups and meets Unification missionaries. After months of careful study he recognises the Divine Principle as truth. True Father signs a copy of the book for him and tells him that to be a missionary in Poland he must be "a living martyr" — strong enough to survive prison and to protect others.
True Father names Great Britain "in position of Eve"
In a speech of 19 March 1972, True Father explains that Britain — by virtue of its role in the world wars and its centuries of Christian missionary sending — stands in the position of Eve in the providence. The same year the movement expands to twelve UK cities.
Mission starts · True Father visits as a tourist
The mission in Poland officially begins on 4 October 1974. The first member is Janusz's wife, followed soon after by her friend Zofia Korzeniewska. The same year True Father visits Poland as a tourist, staying in the Victoria Hotel in Warsaw and praying for the Polish members and nation.
Fourth visit · "England will be completely clobbered"
True Father visits Britain and announces a coming surge: "The time will come when I bring many thousands of the International Mobile Team from America. I think that England will be completely clobbered. I think 3,000 Unification Church members will completely overwhelm Britain."
Fifth visit · Third ICUS Conference
True Father returns later in 1974 for the third International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences — the academic outreach project that will become a defining feature of the 1970s and 1980s providence.
Cleeve House and a network of centres
By 1976 around fifteen centres are established in the UK. On-going workshops run at the farm near Swindon, at Cleeve House, in Dunbar, and at Lancaster Gate HQ. A print works is set up; in 1977 a fishing venture starts in Falmouth, Cornwall with two line-fishing boats — including Baby Lion, built by Ed Stacey — selling mackerel across the south of England.
First fruits · "eight Polish members, as in Noah's family"
By 1976 a small core has formed around Janusz: Krzysztof Gago, Bogumiła Bem, Joanna Ksycińska, Lucyna Piłka and Janusz's mother-in-law. In 1977 the Polish translation of the Divine Principle and a study guide are finished — there are now eight Polish members, "as in Noah's family" — and construction of the Izabelin training centre near Warsaw begins.
42 Lancaster Gate rented as national HQ
No. 42 Lancaster Gate — previously a nurses' hostel — is rented from the Norwegian Embassy and becomes the British national headquarters of the Unification Movement. It is finally purchased in 1979.
Mission Butterfly launched from Austria
Former Austrian national leader Peter Koch, deep in prayer, receives a spirit-world message that "thousands and thousands of people are waiting behind the Iron Curtain in the communist countries". He launches Mission Butterfly: Austrian sisters are sent to learn East European languages and to deny, even to their own families, that they still belong to the Unification Church — the price of going underground in one's own country.
True Father's seventh visit · longest outside the centre nations
True Parents arrive at Heathrow as a complete surprise to European members. They are delayed three hours by immigration before being granted temporary admission; an extension is later won in court after the British government tries to use the US "Koreagate" Fraser Committee subpoena as evidence. Rev. Moon's counsel — Mr Fox-Andrews QC — gets the judge to reprimand the government for relying on press speculation. The visit lasts over 120 days, the longest True Father ever spent in any country other than Korea, Japan or the US.
Blessing of 118 couples in London
118 couples from all over Europe are blessed in London. Tabloid coverage focuses on the 40-day separation condition ("Moon slaps 40-day Sex Ban on newly-weds") and the familiar charges of brainwashing.
The Daily Mail libel case begins
The Daily Mail runs a series of articles headlined "The church that breaks up families". On behalf of the British church, its president Dennis Orme sues the Daily Mail for libel.
40-day conditions across Poland
Members carry out 40-day indemnity conditions, travelling around Poland praying and lecturing on the Divine Principle and Victory Over Communism. They climb the highest peaks in the country, including Rysy in winter, giving lectures as they go. In October 1979 Barbara Piątkowska-Stacy joins the Polish movement.
Austrian sisters cross the Iron Curtain
Martha Rainer goes underground to Cracow in 1980, studying Polish at the Jagiellonian University. Helga and Hildegard arrive in 1981; Hildegard later moves to Toruń while Helga stays in Warsaw. They are matched by picture by True Father in Camberg, Germany, in 1981, and married — also by picture — in Korea in October 1982.
Martial law · prayer against Soviet invasion
Martial law and curfew are declared on 13 December 1981; most Solidarity leaders are arrested or interned. The Izabelin centre is almost ready to open. Mrs Kim sends 12 stones from Pusan for the protection of 12 people in Poland, and the members bless the buildings of the communist regime and organise prayer marches to prevent bloodshed.
Jury finds for the Daily Mail · longest libel trial in English history
After coming to court in October 1980, the jury delivers its verdict on 31 March 1981 in favour of the Daily Mail, adding a rider that the tax-free status of the church "should be investigated by the Inland Revenue on the grounds that it is a political organisation". By the time it ends — with the Court of Appeal dismissing in December 1982 and the Lords refusing leave on 10 February 1983 — it has become the longest libel trial in English legal history. Huge costs are awarded against the Church.
"Pornography Destroys Love" rally · Trafalgar Square
CARP holds a national rally in Trafalgar Square — the movement's major UK event of the year — drawing members and supporters from Aberdeen to Plymouth.
"Noah's Ark" cycling mission · Blessing of 6
With fuel rationed, Janusz M, his wife, Joanna Ksycińska, Barbara Piątkowska-Stacey and Krzysztof Gago cycle around Poland on the next 40-day condition, sleeping in safe houses. On 14 October 1982 six Polish members receive the Blessing in Korea — only their small pictures are sent, none of them can travel. In 1983 they organise a 1,000-litre fuel collection to help interned Solidarity figures and run a second cycling tour with a black tent called "Noah's Ark".
Rebirth of Christianity tour · Faith Jones message
In July 1984 Polish members tour the 120 most important churches in Poland, helping priests and lecturing on the Divine Principle. Poland is reeling: Pope John Paul II has survived an assassination attempt, the Solidarity priest Jerzy Popiełuszko is brutally murdered, and True Father is in Danbury. In September 1984 about 20 members gather in Izabelin and receive a spirit-world message through the medium Faith Jones — from Heung Jin Nim, who had ascended that year, and from Mary the mother of Jesus — reassuring them that communism will fall sooner than they think.
Attorney General's case to remove charity status — dropped
Under pressure from MPs after the libel defeat, the Attorney General launches a legal action to remove the HSA-UWC and SMM Foundation trusts from the Register of Charities. The church spends four years preparing affidavits. In February 1988 the Attorney General announces in the House of Commons that, after "exhaustive investigation", he is dropping the action — he has no evidence to counter the "strong presumption" of the UC's charitable status. Costs are awarded against the Government.
Krzysztof Gago's secret mission to Moscow
Janusz M asks Krzysztof Gago to bring the victory of Solidarity symbolically to the USSR. On his way to his wedding in Japan, Krzysztof breaks out of the Moscow airport transit hotel, distributes mini-Bibles in the city and prays at sites symbolising Stalinism. He passes through customs reserved for communist party members thanks, the members feel, to divine protection. True Father's words echo throughout: "Moscow means: must go."
Christoph Kral enters Poland through business
After being matched to Martha Rainer in 1981 and Blessed by picture in 1982, Christoph Kral spends years preparing to follow his wife underground. He officially leaves the Unification Church, lands a sales job with an Austrian printing-machinery firm covering Eastern Europe, navigates a year of high-pressure business trips with his alcohol-soaked boss, and finally joins Martha in Cracow in 1987.
Glanow training centre purchased
With Christoph's investment a farmhouse on 4.5 hectares is bought in the village of Glanow near Cracow and turned into a training centre. Brothers Stanislaw "Staszek" Glowacki and Jacek "Jacenty" Czyszczon lead the construction. The same year the Izabelin centre, finally finished after eleven years of building, hosts its first seven-day workshop. Twelve dedicated young Polish brothers and sisters have joined by the end of 1989.
Solidarity wins · communism crumbles
In the June 1989 elections the communist party is completely defeated. Rev. Kwak, who took over Mission Butterfly after Peter Koch ascended in 1984, visits Poland for the first time and meets with about twelve members of the Cracow community and twelve from Warsaw, along with eminent professors who advise Lech Wałęsa, in the Solidarity headquarters in Gdańsk.
Berlin Wall falls · two underground groups meet
On 9 November 1989 the Berlin Wall falls. On 19 November True Parents return from meeting President Gorbachev in Moscow. In December the missionary groups in Warsaw and Cracow meet for the first time and unite as one church centred on Janusz M (with his wife Barbara) as the first national leader of Poland. Two Holy Grounds are established — one at Glanow and one at Izabelin.
Home Secretary refuses Rev. Moon entry
The Home Secretary refuses Rev. Moon entry clearance "because of your character and conduct". The fallout from the 1981 libel verdict still hangs over the movement.
Church and CARP officially registered
On 20 January 1990 the Unification Church is officially registered in Poland. On 20 April CARP is registered in Cracow as the Akademickie Stowarzyszenie Urzeczywistniania Wartości Uniwersalnych. From June to August 1990 the American "Religious Youth Service" runs the first community-service project in any post-communist country, including a water-pipeline dig in Karniowice near Cracow.
Erwin and Hildegard appointed national leaders
In January 1991 Austrian missionary Erwin becomes regional leader for East Europe; in November he and his wife Hildegard — herself a former underground Mission Butterfly sister — become the second national leaders of Poland. Hildegard had been working underground in Poland already at the time of her 1982 matching, when Erwin "could only imagine it".
Immigration adjudicator overturns the entry ban
After an appeal, the Adjudicator allows it and orders an entry clearance to be granted. The government does not appeal. Letters of consent are issued in late 1991 and summer 1992.
67 Polish couples in the 30,000 Couple Blessing
Sixty-seven Polish candidates take part in the 30,000 Couple Blessing held in Seoul on 25 August 1992, including older members who had joined under communist rule. On 11 December 1992 the Polish chapter of the Women's Federation for World Peace is registered in Warsaw, with 200 people attending the first national event in the Warsaw Forum Hotel.
British members join the 1,267 and 30,000 Couple Blessings
British members participate in the 1,267 Couple Blessing for Previously Married Couples on 10 April — the first Blessing to include participants of other faiths — and in the 30,000 Couple Blessing on 25 August.
Patrick Jouan becomes fourth national leader
Martha Kral serves as acting national leader from January 1993 until October, when Patrick Jouan from France is appointed the fourth national leader of Poland. He serves until 1996. In January 1994 Martha leaves Poland after fourteen years of mission to join her husband Christoph in Armenia and the CIS.
True Mother speaks at the Marriott in Warsaw
True Mother visits Poland and delivers her speech "True Parents and the Completed Testament Era" at the Marriott Hotel in Warsaw to about 1,000 guests. The full text is published in Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's most important newspaper. President Lech Wałęsa's wife Danuta sends a warm letter of welcome.
True Parents' first joint visit to Poland
True Parents arrive in Warsaw on 6 November — True Father's first visit since 1974. That evening Father shares his heart with Polish brothers and sisters for three hours. The next day True Mother meets Danuta Wałęsa, and Father addresses 1,400 guests in the Palace of Congress on "True Family and I". Father then sightsees Warsaw, listening to a thirty-minute summary of Polish history from a Polish brother.
FFWPU inaugurated in Warsaw
The Family Federation for World Peace in Poland is inaugurated on 1 December 1996 at the Forum Hotel in Warsaw. True Father's speech "In Search of the Beginnings of the Universe" is presented to 300 people. The same year four National Messiah families are assigned to Poland: Rev. Sung Kyun Moon, the Yoshidas, the Clyburns and the Fiores.
Tim Miller appointed National Leader
Tim Miller is appointed as National Leader of the Unification Movement in the UK.
Tim Read appointed · 11-year tenure
Nine months later Tim Read is appointed as National Leader and serves for the next eleven years — the longest-serving UK National Leader in the movement's history.
FFWPU inaugurated in the UK · New Connaught Rooms
True Mother had been due to speak in London on 19 October but is called back to Korea one week before; Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak comes in her place and delivers her speech to a packed audience of over 900 in the New Connaught Rooms in Central London. The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) is established in the UK.
WFWP-UK registered
The Women's Federation for World Peace UK — first led by Barbara Zaccarelli from 1992 — is registered as a limited company. Linda Brann is appointed president in 1996, followed by Martina Coombs until 2006.
True Mother's 82-city World Speaking Tour reaches London
True Mother speaks at the New Connaught Rooms in London to an audience of 1,300 — including 440 guests and VIPs — as part of her 82-city world tour. A meeting of all European leaders is held under the guidance of Pres. Kwang-kee Sa, European continental director.
Polish chapter of IIFWP launched
The Polish chapter of the International and Interreligious Federation for World Peace is launched at a conference in Konstancin-Jeziorna near Warsaw from 17–19 November 2000, on "Creating the Culture of Peace: Personality, Family and Service for Society". A joint IIFWP/WFWP conference follows in Jachranka in December.
True Mother's third World Speaking Tour
True Mother returns to the UK as part of her next world speaking tour, with conferences continuing at the Russell Hotel in London and meetings on "Marriage and the Family" at venues including Woolwich Town Hall.
50 Polish patriots liberated at Cheong Pyeong · Marek Rudnik appointed
Fifty Polish saints and patriots — among them kings, military commanders and saints from Poland's past — are liberated at Cheong Pyeong. The same year Marek Rudnik succeeds Chang Duk Bong as the seventh national leader of Poland.
Peace Embassy purchased in Warsaw
On 6 June 2002 the Polish Unification Movement receives substantial financial support from True Parents to buy a building as a Peace Embassy in Warsaw — a stylish building with a 100-seat conference hall, dining room, seven guest rooms and a VIP conference room. Later that month Dae Mo Nim comes to Glanow for the first European-level ancestor liberation, with about 2,000 members from across Europe participating.
True Parents' Coronation at the Peace Embassy
The Coronation Ceremony of True Parents as King and Queen of Peace is held at the Peace Embassy in Warsaw on 28 November 2004. 120 people attend, including representatives of different religions, Ambassadors for Peace, professors and other VIPs.
True Parents at the Westin Hotel · 100-city tour
During the 100-city world speaking tour True Parents come to Warsaw. An exhibition on Nowy Świat Street, supported by Japanese missionary Beatrice Clyburn and Krzysztof Gago, helps push the count past 500 Ambassadors for Peace. On 24 October True Father speaks at the Westin Hotel to a hall built for 550 — over 700 guests cram in, doors left open, German members busing in 240 supporters and Holland a coach of 50. True Mother is welcomed at the airport with a red carpet.
True Parents' World Tour · 40th anniversary of the European movement
True Parents' world tour marks the 40th anniversary of the European Movement, dated from Young Oon Kim's 1965 arrival in the UK. By this point the British movement has shifted focus toward interfaith and intercultural reconciliation, service projects, and family-values work.
True Mother and Kook Jin Nim · 180-Nation Peace Tour
True Mother and Kook Jin Nim visit Warsaw on 2 July 2006 as part of the 180-Nation Peace Tour, with Kook Jin Nim speaking on "God's Ideal Family and the Kingdom of the Peaceful, Ideal World" at the Hotel Sofitel Victoria. On 13 September 2006 three True Grandchildren — Hyung Jin Nim, Shin Sook Moon and Hirotaka Otsuka — speak in Warsaw, Cracow and Gdańsk on the same day as part of the Three Generation European Speaking Tour.
Three Generations Tour · True Mother and True Children
True Mother and the True Children tour Europe, including the UK, on the Three Generations Tour.
Global Peace Festival
The Global Peace Festival comes to the UK, expanding the movement's reach through the new Global Peace Foundation and the Family Church.
Jacek Czyszczon becomes eighth national leader
In February 2008 Jacek Czyszczon — the tenth member of Mission Butterfly in Cracow and Blessed in the 30,000 Couple Blessing — becomes the eighth national leader of Poland with his wife Mi Kyung Hwang.
Seong Hwa for the Smolensk victims
On 10 April 2010 a Polish government plane crashes near Smolensk, killing President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and all 106 on board. With the support of Dae Mo Nim and Heung Jin Nim the Polish members hold a National Liberation Ceremony in Warsaw on 6 June 2010 for the government officials who died in the crash, together with Ambassadors for Peace and representatives of UPF and WFWP.
True Parents' European Speaking Tour
True Parents return for a European Speaking Tour. After arriving at the Hilton on the Thames, the programme includes a reception at the Houses of Parliament with speeches by Members of Parliament.
True Father's Seung Hwa · Polish delegation in Korea
Eight brothers and sisters from Poland travel to Korea to attend True Father's Seung Hwa Ceremony on 3 September 2012. Later that year Haruyo Gago — a Japanese sister and the wife of Krzysztof Gago, who had joined her husband during the underground mission — ascends to the spirit world after a long illness.
True Father's Ascension
At 1.54 a.m. Korea time on 3 September 2012, True Father ascends. 250,000 people pay respect at the altar in the Peace Centre and at altars around the world — including one at the Lancaster Gate HQ. The British altar is set up in the same room where True Father had given his first public UK speech in 1972.
True Father's Seong Hwa
True Father's Seong Hwa ceremony is held at 1.30 p.m. with 50,000 mourners present in Korea.
UK Memorial Service · Friends Meeting House, London
A Memorial Service for True Father is held in the Friends Meeting House in London, organised by UPF and Ambassadors for Peace, with VIPs, interfaith religious leaders, Ambassadors for Peace and members in attendance.
Joint celebration to honour Father Moon
On 1 February 2013 representatives of FFWPU, WFWP and UPF hold a joint celebration in Warsaw to pay respect to True Father's life. From 6–12 September the Polish and Russian WFWP chapters, together with the North-West Russia chapter, hold "Bridge of Peace" ceremonies between Polish and Russian sisters — including a visit to the National Museum of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
UK Leaders meeting at Cleeve House
The post-Ascension era for the UK movement opens with a national UK Leaders' meeting at Cleeve House.
European Continental Representative visits
The Polish Family Church welcomes European Continental Representative President An Shik Young for the first time. He travels from Cracow to Warsaw to Gdańsk, giving guidance about the Era of Cheon Il Guk. In July True Mother's Special Emissaries for Eastern Europe, Dr Moon Lan Young and Dr Pak No Hi, visit Poland.
40th Anniversary Offering · Janusz M returns
The Polish Family Church celebrates forty years of the movement at the Peace Embassy in Warsaw. Acting national leader Martha Kral offers a special signed document — "Offering and Dedication to our Beloved Heavenly Parent and True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind" — covering the work of both underground branches (Warsaw under Janusz and Barbara M, Cracow under Martha and Christoph Kral). At that moment Janusz M, the first missionary, walks into the sanctuary for the first time in almost eighteen years; the whole congregation rises in tearful welcome.