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{{Short description|Russian pseudo-Christian cult leader}}
{{for|people with the name|Vissarion (given name)}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Jesus of Siberia|Jesus of Suburbia}}
{{Expand Russian|topic=bio|Тороп,_Сергей_Анатольевич|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Vissarion
| image              = Vissarion smiling.jpg
| caption            = Vissarion during the Sunday Teachings
| religion           = Last Testamentism
| church             = {{ill|Church of the Last Testament|ru|Церковь последнего завета}}
| nationality        = [[Russia]]n
| birth_name         = Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1961|01|14|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Krasnodar]], [[Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| parents            = Anatoly Torop and Nadia Malashenko
| reincarnation_of   = 
| profession         = Spiritual Teacher
}}
'''Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop''' ({{langx|ru|Серге́й Анато́льевич То́роп}}, ''Sergej Anatolʹevič Torop''; born 14 January 1961), known as '''Vissarion''' ({{lang-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 {{ill|Church of the Last Testament|ru|Церковь последнего завета}}, described by many organizations as a [[cult]].<ref name="BBC documentary">{{cite news |title=Vissarion: Is this Russian cult leader a fraud? |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-55765995 |access-date=24 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="Gdn20200922" /><ref name="Slate2013" />

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”.[https://vissarion.world/2021/09/13/get-acquainted-thats-who-i-am/] 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, Kuraginsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai|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.[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tiberkul-religious-settlement][https://www.rferl.org/a/inside-vissarions-village-the-jesus-of-siberia/30854072.html]

As Vissarion, he teaches [[reincarnation]], [[veganism]], harmonious human relations, and predicting the [[Apocalypse|end of the world]].<ref name="Slate2013">{{cite web|title=Russian Cult May be The Largest Religious Reservation In The World|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/07/16/russian_cult_may_be_the_largest_religious_reservation_in_the_world.html|work=Slate|date=16 July 2013|access-date=1 November 2013|quote=combines elements of the Russian Orthodox Church with Buddhism, apocalypticism, collectivism, and ecological values. ... Vissarion has predicted the end of the world several times. He teaches reincarnation and civility and requires his adherents to live a life free from vices.}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/world/europe/russia-church-repression-siberia.html?referringSource=articleShare|title=Long Arm of Russian Law Reaches Obscure Siberian Church|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 October 2021|last1=Hopkins|first1=Valerie}}</ref>

In September 2020, Vissarion and two of his close students were arrested and taken away from homes by helicopters during an [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDGvQne-68c operation] by Russia's [[Investigative Committee of Russia|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]]. No trial has yet been scheduled and the community has continued operations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Valerie |last2=Gelman |first2=Mary |title=Long Arm of Russian Law Reaches Obscure Siberian Church |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/world/europe/russia-church-repression-siberia.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=25 February 2022 |date=24 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Уголовное дело в отношении основателей Общины - Община Виссариона сегодня |url=https://vissarion.org/dela/cime_founders/ |website=vissarion.org |access-date=25 February 2022 |language=ru-RU |date=30 November 2020}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop was born in [[Krasnodar]] to Anatoly Torop and Nadezhda (''née'' Malashenko). At 18, he began compulsory service by enlisting in the [[Red Army]], becoming a sergeant working on building sites in [[Mongolia]], followed by three years as a factory metal worker in Minusinsk, Siberia.<ref name="Gdn2002">{{cite news|last=Traynor|first=Ian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/24/russia.iantraynor|title=Jesus of Siberia|work=The Guardian|date=24 May 2002|access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> In the town, he worked as a patrol officer before losing his job in 1989.<ref name="Gdn20200922">{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Shaun |title=Cult leader who claims to be reincarnation of Jesus arrested in Russia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/22/cult-leader-vissarion-reincarnation-jesus-arrested-siberia-russia |access-date=22 September 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=22 September 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newsland.ru/News/Detail/id/404942/cat/37/ Сибирский Иисус Христос - бывший гаишник]</ref> Reported to have gained nine commendations during his five years of service, he was made redundant.<ref name="Gdn2002" />

Torop claims that in 1990 he was "reborn" as Vissarion (meaning "he who gives new life"), claiming to be a returned [[Jesus Christ]]. In his system this does not make him God, but instead the [[Logos (Christianity)|word of God]].<ref name="Gdn2002" /><ref name="ABC2008">{{cite news|last=Ward|first=Clarissa|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/FaithMatters/story?id=5225539&page=1|title=Ex-Traffic Cop Says He's Jesus|work=ABC News|date=24 June 2008|access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref> His religious beliefs combine elements of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] with [[Buddhism]], 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]].<ref name="BBC20200922">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54249304|title=Sergei Torop: Russian religious sect leader arrested over allegations of harm|work=BBC News|date=22 September 2020|access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref> He predicted the imminent end of the world with only his followers being saved.<ref name="Times20200923">{{cite news|last=Bennetts|first=Marc|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/messianic-cult-leader-vissarion-held-in-armed-siberian-raid-zfz3wsczs|title=Cult leader Vissarion held in armed Siberia helicopter raid|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=23 September 2020|access-date=23 September 2020}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

His followers observe strict regulations, including abstaining from meat, smoking, [[Teetotalism|drinking alcohol]], swearing and the use of money.<ref name="Gdn2002" /><ref>[http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/russia/030414.htm The Vissarion Cult in Russia - Lermanet, November 6, 2003]</ref><ref>[http://www.newser.com/story/68119/reborn-jesus-leads-vegans-in-russia.html 'Reborn' Jesus Leads Vegans in Russia - Newser, August 29, 2009]</ref> The aim of the group is to unite all religions on Earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk|title=Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus (Documentary Exclusive)|date=16 May 2012|work=VICE News|access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref> He replaced Christmas with a feast day on his birthday (14 January) and claimed to possess an ability to heal cancer and [[AIDS]] with a touch from his hand.<ref name="Times20200923" /> 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.<ref name="Gdn2002" />

Tiberkul, the settlement in the Taiga, was established in 1994 on a territory of {{Convert|2.5|km2|acre}}, and expanded to several nearby villages, such as those of Petropavlovka and Cheremshanka, at ca. {{Coord|53|52|N|94|05|E|}}. It has some four thousand inhabitants, following [[sustainability|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.<ref name="ABC2008" />

== 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.<ref>[http://wissarion.info/ Vissarion]</ref>

in 1993, Vissarion appeared at several moments in the documentary ''Bells from the Deep'' by [[Werner Herzog]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106384/ | title=Glocken aus der Tiefe - Glaube und Aberglaube in Rußland | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

In May 2012, the ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' YouTube channel released "Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus", containing a report by [[Rocco Castoro]], a reporter for ''Vice'' in [[Petropavlovka, Kuraginsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai|Petropavlovka]], and his interview with Vissarion.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk Cult Leader Thinks He’s Jesus]</ref> This was the first time Vissarion had granted an interview in three years.

In 2018, the Japanese show ''Hyper Hardboiled Gourmet Report''<ref>[https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp.e.ck.hp.transer.com/hyperhard/backnumber/20180409/ Hyper Hardboiled Gourmet Report, TV Tokyo, Season 1 Episode 3]</ref> 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 [[Federal Security Service|FSB]] and Russian police, and taken to [[Novosibirsk]] central district court, along with two aides, Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov.<ref name="BBC20200922" /><ref name="Gdn20200922" /> On 30 June 2025, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment over the charges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=‘Jesus of Siberia’ Cult Leader Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/06/30/jesus-of-siberia-cult-leader-sentenced-to-12-years-in-prison-a89618 |access-date=30 June 2025 |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |date=30 June 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

== 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.<ref>[http://www.k-istine.ru/sects/vissarion/vissarion_maksimov.htm Семён Максимов."Позови меня в даль светлую" или сказки дядюшки Виссариона//Миссионерское обозрение, № 3,4,6, 1998]</ref>

Vissarion has a younger half-sister, Irina. Although he has a biological mother of his own, Vissarion considers [[Mary, mother of Jesus]] as his mother.<ref>[http://realityworld.narod.ru/library/Vissarion/Vstrechi.html Последний Завет. Т.1, СП-б, Фламинго, 1996, вопрос 24.]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Christianity in Russia]]
* [[List of messiah claimants]]
* [[List of people who have claimed to be Jesus]]
* [[Messiah complex]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.vissarion.ru/}} {{in lang|ru}}
* [http://slovo.vissarion.ru/ Russian-language Last Testament]
* [https://vissarion.ru/en English-language website]
* [https://vissarion.world/the-last-testament/ English-language Last Testament]
* [http://www.vissarion.eu/ Vissarion Community International Portal]
* [http://vissarion.name/ Vissarion's Personal page (Russian)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIXysaSzRxQ Orthodox church and Vissarion]
* [http://baschqort.narod2.ru/torop/monetkin/bbc/ Film of BBC ''A Long Weekend with The Son of God'' (Filmmaker George Carey)].
* [http://www.krupar.com/index.php?file=www/en/gallery/gallery.html&cat=32 Stanislav Krupar's photos of Vissarion community]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080828173336/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060401.wfcover01/BNStory/National/ ''Globe and Mail'': Jesus Lives]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/16/AR2007071601938.html ''The Washington Post'': Novel Faiths Find Followers Among Russia's Disillusioned]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,721088,00.html ''The Guardian'' on him]
* [http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/9906b.html Section in news about religion in Russia listed under "Sect in Siberia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313214425/http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/9906b.html |date=2006-03-13 }}
* [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/18/1029114050435.html ''Sydney Morning Herald'' article]
* [https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/FaithMatters/story?id=5225539&page=1 ABC ''Nightline'' video and article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141006045436/http://www.vice.com/the-vice-guide-to-travel/jesus-of-siberia-full-length Vice Guide to Travel: Jesus of Siberia]
* [http://apologetika.ru/win/index.php3?razd=1&id1=27&id2=246 Russian-language profile and critique]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk Cult Leader Thinks He’s Jesus]	
* [http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/07/16/russian_cult_may_be_the_largest_religious_reservation_in_the_world.html Reincarnated Jesus' Secluded Siberian Sect]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/world/europe/russia-church-repression-siberia.html NY Times ''Long Arm of Russian Law Reaches Obscure Siberian Church'']
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Krasnodar]]
[[Category:Russian religious leaders]]
[[Category:Russian Christian mystics]]
[[Category:Self-declared messiahs]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 1990s]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:20th-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:21st-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:Christian vegetarians]]
[[Category:Reincarnation]]
[[Category:New religious movements in Russia]]