Vissarion

Sergei Anatolyevich Torop (; born 14 January 1961), better known as Vissarion , 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.

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. 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. 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. 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, 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 with a touch from his hand.

in 1993, Vissarion appeared at several moments in the documentary Bells from the Deep by Werner Herzog.

In May 2012, the Vice 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 Novosibirsk central district court, along with two aides, Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov.

Personal life Torop repudiated his first wife and married a nineteen-year-old who had lived with him since she was seven. 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 as his mother.