Vissarion

For people with the name, seeVissarion (given name).

"Jesus of Siberia" redirects here; not to be confused withJesus of Suburbia.

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Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop (Russian:Серге́й Анато́льевич То́роп,Sergej Anatolʹevič Torop; born 14 January 1961), known asVissarion (Russian:Виссарио́н,IPA:[vʲɪsərʲɪˈon], "He who gives new life" or "life-giving"), is a Russian spiritual teacher and founder of the non-profit, religious organizationChurch of the Last Testament [ru], described by many organizations as acult.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Vissarion
Vissarion during the Sunday Teachings
Personal life
Born	Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop (1961-01-14)14 January 1961 (age 64) Krasnodar,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian
Parent(s)	Anatoly Torop and Nadia Malashenko
Religious life
Religion	Last Testamentism
Church	Church of the Last Testament [ru]
Profession	Spiritual Teacher

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”.[1] He gave his first public teaching after awakening inMinusinsk on 18 August 1991.

He founded the Church of the Last Testament (Церковь Последнего ЗаветаTserkov Poslednego Zaveta), also known as the Community of Unified Faith, with its head church located in the SiberianTaiga in theMinusinsk Basin east ofAbakan, in the small settlement called Abode of Dawn (official name) or The Sun City (unofficial name) nearPetropavlovka. 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.[2][3]

As Vissarion, he teachesreincarnation,veganism, harmonious human relations, and predicting theend of the world.^[3]

Since 1991, on the basis of Vissarion's meetings, teachings and speeches, a multi-volume text calledThe Last Testament has been written, outlining a set of principles focused on self-improvement, self-governance and community.^[4]

In September 2020, Vissarion and two of his close students were arrested and taken away from homes by helicopters during anoperation by Russia'sInvestigative 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 inNovosibirsk. No trial has yet been scheduled and the community has continued operations.^[5]^[6]

Biography

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Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop was born inKrasnodar to Anatoly Torop and Nadezhda (née Malashenko). At 18, he began compulsory service by enlisting in theRed Army, becoming a sergeant working on building sites inMongolia, followed by three years as a factory metal worker in Minusinsk, Siberia.^[7] In the town, he worked as a patrol officer before losing his job in 1989.^[2]^[8] Reported to have gained nine commendations during his five years of service, he was made redundant.^[7]

Torop claims that in 1990 he was "reborn" as Vissarion (meaning "he who gives new life"), claiming to be a returnedJesus Christ. In his system this does not make him God, but instead theword of God.^[7]^[9] His religious beliefs combine elements of theRussian Orthodox Church withBuddhism, apocalypticism, collectivism, and ecological values. Torop founded the Church of the Last Testament in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia in 1991 just before thefall of the USSR.^[10] He predicted the imminent end of the world with only his followers being saved.^[11]

His followers observe strict regulations, including abstaining from meat, smoking,drinking alcohol, swearing and the use of money.^[7]^[12]^[13] The aim of the group is to unite all religions on Earth.^[14] He replaced Christmas with a feast day on his birthday (14 January) and claimed to possess an ability to heal cancer andAIDS with a touch from his hand.^[11] 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.^[7]

Tiberkul, the settlement in the Taiga, was established in 1994 on a territory of 2.5 square kilometres (620 acres), and expanded to several nearby villages, such as those of Petropavlovka and Cheremshanka, at ca.53°52′N94°05′E / 53.867°N 94.083°E /53.867; 94.083. It has some four thousand inhabitants, followingecological principles. The central settlement, also calledThe Town orThe Mountain, has a three-tiered structure: the Town itself (Abode of Dawn), theHeavenly Abode, and theTemple Peak. The churches and houses are built from wood by hand, and most of the energy used originates from windmills or solar panels.^[9]

Media coverage

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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.^[15]

in 1993, Vissarion appeared at several moments in the documentaryBells from the Deep byWerner Herzog.^[16]

In May 2012, theVice YouTube channel released "Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus", containing a report byRocco Castoro, a reporter forVice inPetropavlovka, and his interview with Vissarion.^[17] This was the first time Vissarion had granted an interview in three years.

In 2018, the Japanese showHyper Hardboiled Gourmet Report^[18] 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

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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 theFSB and Russian police, and taken toNovosibirsk central district court, along with two aides, Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov.^[10]^[2]

Personal life

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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.^[19]

Vissarion has a younger half-sister, Irina. Although he has a biological mother of his own, Vissarion considersMary, mother of Jesus as his mother.^[20]