Associated Press/Jacqueline Larma
Worshippers hold unloaded weapons at the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary on Feb. 28, 2018 in Newfoundland, Pa.
On the last day in February, hundreds of worshippers took to a small Pennsylvania village with their AR-15 rifles for a bizarre ceremony that simultaneously blessed their marriages and celebrated each member's "rod of iron."
The ceremony was held at Newfoundland's World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, where Rev. Sean Moon prayed for "a kingdom of peace police and peace militia where the citizens, through the right given to them by almighty God to keep and bear arms, will be able to protect one another and protect human flourishing."
This particular church is a "breakaway faction" of South Korea's Unification Church, which is widely regarded as a cult, according to the Associated Press.
Here's how the mass blessing went down: