Sofia, Bulgaria—World Interfaith Harmony Week 2021 was celebrated in Bulgaria with a daily online reading of the UPF founder’s words.
Although UPF is not yet active in Bulgaria, members of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an affiliated organization, were inspired to read from As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, the autobiography of Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon.
On Sunday, January 31, one day before the beginning of the UN observance, the weeklong celebration was announced “live” on the FFWPU-Bulgaria Facebook page. At that time, the FFWPU leader read the UPF Principles and expressed support for the initiative as a partner organization.
Starting on February 1 and continuing until February 7, a different section of Reverend Moon’s autobiography, from the chapter titled “Love Will Bring Unification,” was read aloud on the FFWPU Facebook page every day.
Over 1,000 views were registered by the FFWPU Facebook page during the seven days.
On the last day, February 7, most of the people who had participated during the week returned, and even some extra people joined for the final reading.
Some of the participants said that they were inspired to read (or re-read) Reverend Moon’s autobiography from the beginning. FFWPU is hopeful that many more people will watch the recordings of the reading sessions on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bgffwpu).
To conclude the week, on the afternoon of Sunday, February 7, FFWPU organized a small (offline) gathering with representatives of different spiritual groups, mainly people who do not have regular access to the Internet.
The program consisted of reading from Reverend Moon’s autobiography and the exchange of views on how to prevent wars and change the community.
Rumyana Russeva was the MC for the event. Mihaela Sergeeva read aloud Chapter 2 of Reverend Moon’s autobiography.
Ambassador for Peace Mariana Eclesia, a retired journalist and theologian, spoke about the role of parliamentary leaders and presidents in stopping the production of military weapons.
Those guests who stayed to the end watched the Indian movie Abdullah (1980), which is about love and religious tolerance between Muslims and Hindus. They were inspired and suggested that more such meetings with movies and discussions be held, so FFWPU-Bulgaria is planning to organize a monthly movie club with different topics.