Vissarion

Sergei Anatolyevich Torop (Russian: Серге́й Анато́льевич То́роп; born 14 January 1961), better known as Vissarion (Russian: Виссарио́н), is a Russian religious leader, self-proclaimed reincarnation of Jesus, and founder of the Church of the Last Testament. He has been described by various organisations and media sources as a cult leader. His adopted name is the Russian form of the Greek name Βησσαρίων (Bessarion or Vissarion), meaning "wooded valley" or "ravine", while "life-giving" is a later devotional interpretation.

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 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 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 Vissarion.

As Vissarion, he teaches reincarnation, veganism, 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 an 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. The community continued operations. In 2025, he was sentenced to 12-years imprisonment.