Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop (, ''Sergej Anatolʹevič Torop''; born 14 January 1961), known as Vissarion ( rus, Виссарио́н, p=vʲɪsərʲɪˈon, "He who gives new life" or "life-giving"), is a Russian spiritual teacher and founder of the non-profit, religious organization , described by many organizations as a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

. According to the followers of Sergei Torop and some of his own explanations, on 18 August 1990, at the age of 29, Sergey had a “spiritual awakening�

He gave his first public teaching after awakening in

Minusinsk Minusinsk (; ) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: 44,500 (1973). History "About 330-200 B.C. the iron age triumphed at Minusinsk, producing spiked axes, partly bronze and ...

on 18 August 1991. He founded the Church of the Last Testament (Церковь Последнего Завета ''Tserkov Poslednego Zaveta''), also known as the Community of Unified Faith, with its head church located in the Siberian

Taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

in the Minusinsk Basin east of Abakan, in the small settlement called Abode of Dawn (official name) or The Sun City (unofficial name) near Petropavlovka. Since then, the Christianity-based religious movement has amassed more than 10,000 followers around the world with around 4,000 living in the few settlements in Siberia near Vissario

https://www.rferl.org/a/inside-vissarions-village-the-jesus-of-siberia/30854072.html] As Vissarion, he teaches

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vega ...

, harmonious human relations, and predicting the end of the world. Since 1991, on the basis of Vissarion's meetings, teachings and speeches, a multi-volume text called ''The Last Testament'' has been written, outlining a set of principles focused on self-improvement, self-governance and community. In September 2020, Vissarion and two of his close students were arrested and taken away from homes by helicopters during a
operation
by Russia's Investigative Committee. The Russian authorities accused them of “creating a religious group whose activities may impose violence on citizens” — Vissarion's arrest may have been part of a broader campaign against non-conformist religious groups by the Russian government. As of 2021, Vissarion and the two others were being kept in prison in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

. No trial has yet been scheduled and the community has continued operations.

Biography

Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop was born in

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

to Anatoly Torop and Nadezhda (''née'' Malashenko). At 18, he began compulsory service by enlisting in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, becoming a sergeant working on building sites in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, followed by three years as a factory metal worker in Minusinsk, Siberia. In the town, he worked as a patrol officer before losing his job in 1989. Reported to have gained nine commendations during his five years of service, he was made redundant. Torop claims that in 1990 he was "reborn" as Vissarion (meaning "he who gives new life"), claiming to be a returned

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. In his system this does not make him God, but instead the word of God. His religious beliefs combine elements of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

with

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, apocalypticism, collectivism, and ecological values. Torop founded the Church of the Last Testament in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia in 1991 just before the fall of the USSR. He predicted the imminent end of the world with only his followers being saved. His followers observe strict regulations, including abstaining from meat, smoking,

drinking alcohol Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits (hard liquor). Alcohol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, decreasing electrical ...

, swearing and the use of money. The aim of the group is to unite all religions on Earth. He replaced Christmas with a feast day on his birthday (14 January) and claimed to possess an ability to heal cancer and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

with a touch from his hand. The calendar runs from the day of Vissarion's birth in 1961; the biggest feast day (August 18) originates from his first sermon in 1991. Tiberkul, the settlement in the Taiga, was established in 1994 on a territory of , and expanded to several nearby villages, such as those of Petropavlovka and Cheremshanka, at ca. . It has some four thousand inhabitants, following ecological principles. The central settlement, also called ''The Town'' or ''The Mountain'', has a three-tiered structure: the Town itself (''Abode of Dawn''), the ''Heavenly Abode'', and the ''Temple Peak''. The churches and houses are built from wood by hand, and most of the energy used originates from windmills or solar panels.

Media coverage

Since 1992, biographer Vadim Redkin has published an annual volume detailing Vissarion's activities. Vissarion has attracted followers from Germany's esoteric subculture, and seven volumes of Vadim's account have been translated into German. in 1993, Vissarion appeared at several moments in the documentary ''Bells from the Deep'' by

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

. In May 2012, the ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' YouTube channel released "Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus", containing a report by Rocco Castoro, a reporter for ''Vice'' in Petropavlovka, and his interview with Vissarion. This was the first time Vissarion had granted an interview in three years. In 2018, the Japanese show ''Hyper Hardboiled Gourmet Report'' visited the City of the Sun, but did not interview the founder (Vissarion). It was able to interview multiple adherents, including children and a sub-founder.

2020 arrest

On 22 September 2020, Russian authorities arrested Vissarion on charges of running an illegal religious organization, possible physical harm to others, and extortion. He was apprehended by the FSB and Russian police, and taken to

central district court, along with two aides, Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov.

Personal life

Torop repudiated his first wife and married a 19-year-old who had lived with him since she was a girl of age 7. He has six children from the two marriages. Vissarion has a younger half-sister, Irina. Although he has a biological mother of his own, Vissarion considers

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

as his mother.Последний Завет. Т.1, СП-б, Фламинго, 1996, вопрос 24.
/ref>

References

External links