''Reverend Moon has been very intentional about promoting his activities within the African-American church community,'' Mr. Lynn said. But he said he was disturbed by lawmakers' ''flimsy excuses,'' adding, ''You had what effectively amounted to a religious coronation in a government building of a man who claims literally to be the savior.''

Mr. Cummings, however, said the invitation was similar to countless requests he receives to honor local constituents, in this case a black bishop in his district. Mr. Bartlett said he attended to support The Washington Times. ''I'm a conservative,'' he said. ''I'm delighted that we have a middle-of-the-road paper in Washington.''

The event itself attracted little notice, though Mr. Lynn's organization wrote about it in a newsletter in May. The uproar did not occur until this week, when John Gorenfeld, a freelance writer, published an account of the event in Salon. Mr. Gorenfeld, who wrote that at least a dozen members of Congress attended, said he had been scouting the Internet, researching Mr. Moon, when he stumbled on a video of the ceremony.

''Nobody sent it to me,'' he said. ''I discovered it and I thought, 'Oh, my God.'''

But Archbishop George A. Stallings, pastor of the Imani Temple, an independent African-American Catholic church in Washington, who helped coordinate the reception, does not see what all the fuss is about. ''From his spiritual perspective,'' he said, referring to Mr. Moon, ''that is how he sees his role, as ordained by God.''

He added: ''This is not the first time the man has been on Capitol Hill.''

As to whether it will be the last, that is an open question. To hold the event in the Dirksen building, the organization was required to find a senator to act as a sponsor. But the identity of the sponsor remained a secret on Wednesday; the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which approved the request, would not release the name.

Susan Irby, a spokeswoman for Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the committee chairman, said staff members were examining the application, filed in the name of The Washington Times Foundation, to see if there were any violations of Senate rules.

Mr. Davis said he had attended meetings of the peace foundation, knowing of Mr. Moon's involvement.

Of the crowning ceremony, Mr. Davis said: ''It's my understanding that what they were doing was recognizing Mr. and Mrs. Moon as parents. They call it true parents, as parents who provide parental guidance or parental direction. That's what it meant to me. It meant nothing more and nothing less.''