A True Apostle of Peace
Dr. Ivan Kaltchev
President, Association of Philosophers from South-Eastern Europe, Bulgaria

In my long work as a university professor and a journalist I have had the opportunity in different places of the world to meet, to speak in person and to hear in close proximity world-famous scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, political leaders and religious leaders.

However, above all these meetings I put my participation in the assembly inspired and organized by Rev. Sun Myung Moon in August 2000 in New York, dedicated to the renovation of the UN for the cause of world peace. It happened that I was the only representative of my little country, Bulgaria.

Here, during this assembly, I finally got the opportunity to see, hear and speak with one of the most authoritative persons of the contemporary world, one true missionary and apostle of peace—the Rev. Moon. I listened to two of his remarkable speeches in the UN building and spoke to him for a couple of minutes at his home near New York during the warm and affectionate reception which he held for the participants in the assembly. In the best meaning of the word, I was truly shocked in New York by the contacts with this charismatic and natural, magnetic and charming person. His ideas about the real family and real love, about building the culture of peace, about tolerance and dialogue between religions and civilizations, about human rights and the rights of the different ethnical(ethnic)), religious, racial, language(linguistic) and cultural minorities, and about the indestructibility of our faith in God echoed very strongly and deeply in me as a philosopher and researcher, as a member of the minority Catholic community in an Orthodox Christian country, where acts of religious fundamentalists towards people of other traditional confessions and even more towards new religious movements are unfortunately not rare cases.

My participation in Assembly 2000 and my unforgettable contacts with the Rev. Moon remain one of the most significant events in my life of a scientist, lecturer and public figure. And the books of the Rev. Moon are my invariable reading, along with the Bible and the classical philosophical texts. On the basis of this considerable personal experience, I can say with easy conscience that with the depth of the discussions, the warm atmosphere, and the variety and wealth of new ideas and concrete suggestions made participating in these meetings a real pleasure and aesthetic experience. This is doubtless due to the influence of the Rev. Moon and the enthusiasm with which he stands up for the cause of peace, love and brotherhood among people.

In his famous speech “How World Peace Can Be Achieved” dated November 27, 1980 in Miami Beach, Florida, the Rev. Moon states:

“First of all, we must be completely clear about the problems about the Absolute being and His motive and purpose for the creation of mankind and the universe. The motivation and the purpose of the creation serve as irreplaceable standards for the practice of love and the establishment of peace. Before any plans are put into operation, first there should be a definite purpose. An action without a purpose is useless. To give explanation of the Absolute being means to have a true conception about God. Then His motive and purpose of creation will be made clear and subsequently it will be clear why we should practice the love of this Absolute being in order to achieve peace…”

During Assembly 2000, the Rev. Moon talked about building the culture of peace, creating zones of peace, and establishing a council of religious and scientific leaders connected to the UN.

Selflessly devoted to the cause of peace between the individuals, in families, nations, people and in the whole world, the Rev. Moon fervently preaches and works for the triumph of (the) culture of peace and love over the widespread culture of death, hate and conflict. Of special merit is his work for the recovery of political stability and democratic principles in Central America, the decrease of tensions between North and South Korea, the elimination of political and economical totalitarianism in East Europe, and the consolidation of the efforts of NGOs and civil society all around the world in the name of establishing a true and lasting brotherhood of nations, peoples, cultures, denominations, races and classes. I would like to express my deep conviction that the uneasy and very often complicated situations in our Balkan region because of the accumulated history and persistent interethnic and interreligious tensions worry the Rev. Moon; this worthy and wise man thinks also about our fate.

The great German philosopher, Hegel, underlined in his philosophical conception the historical process that in crucial times history needs universal persons, the worthiest representatives of mankind. They surpass even the most talented people because they see further into the future and know what mankind should do to achieve the absolute good. In today’s crucial times, when the challenges before mankind are tremendous, persons like the Rev. Moon are not only a culmination of history, but also messengers of God, His ambassador among people. And with such persons like the Rev. Moon, one can live with more confidence in one’s strengths as well as in one’s inner spiritual resources.

After my first meeting with the Rev. Moon in 2000 in New York my life passed under the sign of constant reconfirmation of my amazing impressions of his personality and work in my participation in new meetings of world importance, on(at) which he has been and has spoken.

My most recent meeting with the Rev. Moon (for now, I hope) was in Geneva—a city, according to his words, with a significant history regarding the connection between the religious and the political circles. It happened exactly on my sixty-first birthday. While I was listening to Rev. Moon, I had the strong feeling that I was getting reborn and walking with him to a wonderful world of peace, love and the triumph of the new true family, conceived by the True Parents, who came with the anointing of God to “establish the kingdom of the peaceful, ideal world, where all people can live everywhere hand in hand.”

Rev. Moon’s philosophy of tolerance and unification has been adding vitality and spirituality to me and my own family. Brought up in the atmosphere of a true Catholic family, I did not hesitate to connect my life forever with a woman from the Orthodox Church, under the positive influence of the ideas of Rev. Moon about intercultural and interreligious interchange. What’s more, as father and mother we accepted that our only daughter, baptized a Catholic, married a man from Lebanon who is a Shiite Muslim.

We followed the admonition of Rev. Moon that the “best way to give birth to a clean sinless generation and to build an ideal family is to receive the Holy Blessing with a partner from another race, nationality or religion.”
My family and I are really happy, and no power could divert us from the deep and fundamental understanding that exactly this type of marriage contributes to overcoming the racial, cultural, national and ethnic barriers, thus creating the united human family.