Latest news with #ChurchOfTheLastTestament
The Independent
06-07-2025
- The Independent
Jesus of Siberia: The traffic cop turned cult leader who claimed to be the son of god — and will now spend 12 years in jail
Deep in a remote corner of Siberia, a group of masked men swarmed the City of the Sun, a deeply religious settlement in the Krasnoyarsk region. The Russian security forces had arrived in September 2020 to arrest the so-called Jesus of Siberia, a former traffic policeman known as 'Vissarion' who some viewed as the reincarnation of Christ. The religious leader, whose real name is Sergei Torop, was accused of extorting money and causing physical and psychological harm to his many of followers, some 10,000 worldwide. On Monday, nearly five years later, Torop's stint as a cult leader came to an end when he was convicted in a Siberian court and sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security prison camp, along with two other sect leaders, Vladimir Vedernikov and Vadim Redkin. The 64-year-old bearded and long-haired mystic, who led the Church of the Last Testament, claimed that he had been 'reborn' to convey god's word to the world. Many of his devotees flocked to the settlement known as 'Abode of Dawn' or 'Sun City', soaking in Torop's teachings of reincarnation, veganism, and harmonious human relations. "It's all very complicated," he explained to a reporter for The Guardian in 2002."But to keep things simple, yes, I am Jesus Christ. I am not god. And it is a mistake to see Jesus as god. But I am the living word of God the Father. Everything that god wants to say, he says through me." Torop told his followers not to eat meat, smoke, drink alcohol or swear - and to stop using money. They would often hold prayers in his honour, looking up to his large hilltop residence in the City of the Sun. But it was a darker, hidden side to life in Vissarion's commune that led to his arrest. His apparent re-birth was followed by decades of psychological manipulation of his followers, exploiting them for labour and money from 1991 to 2020. Torop exerted control over his followers, prosecutors said, inflicting 'moral harm' on 16 people, leaving six with 'serious health problems'. 'There were these ridiculous situations when adults and children died because they didn't receive medical assistance,' Elena Melnikova, one of at least eight people who testified against Vissarion and his lieutenants in the year after his arrest, told the BBC. An anti-medical commandment was one of a number of regulations imposed by Vissarion which proved to be harmful to his followers. 'Know thyself. From now on, the flesh must heal itself. In most cases, illness is a punishment for the inability to keep one's flesh in harmony with nature,' Ms Melnikova said, recalling his teachings. Community leaders would beg for money for the community, she said. In some cases, people donated all of their funds, admitted Alexander Staroveroc, who acts as a press secretary for the City of the Sun. Along with Vedernikov and Redkin - jailed for 11 and 12 years respectively - Torop denied all wrongdoing, and it is unclear whether they will appeal their sentences. After their conviction, the court also awarded 45 million rubles (£417,000) in damages to the victims. Torop's journey as a spiritual leader began when he was 29 in 1990, the year he claimed he was reborn as Vissarion, claiming to be a returned Jesus Christ. Born in 1971 in the city of Krasnodar, which was then the Soviet Union, Torop's life until his turn to religion was a tale of toil. Stints in the Red Army, on building sites, in factories, and as a traffic policeman, ultimately led to bitter disappointment when he was made redundant from his latest role after five years of service. As he embarked on a spiritual path following his redundancy, Torop began drawing from elements of various religions: Russian Orthodox Church, Buddhism, and apocalypticism. He embraced veganism and began to adopt collectivist views and ecological values. It would be just two years before he founded the Church of the Last Testament in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia in just months before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The end of the world, Torop told his early followers, was imminent. Only those who observed his strict teachings would be saved. "He radiates incredible love," 57-year-old Hermann told The Guardian. "I met Vissarion last August. He told me we had to follow two laws. It was like an electric shock, like bells ringing." Denis, a 21-year-old Australian, said: "No doubt about it, mate. Definitely the Son of God." An entire new calendar was adopted based around moments in Vissarion's life: Christmas was replaced by a feast day on Vissarion's birthday, 14 January, while another feast day on August 18 was the largest, and originated from his first sermon in 1991. But following decades of worship of a self-professed messiah, his thousands of followers remaining in the remote corner of SIberia now live without their spiritual teacher. He is not due to be released until he is 76 years old.
Fox News
01-07-2025
- Fox News
'Siberian Jesus' sentenced to Russian prison after harming followers in bizarre cult
A Siberian cult leader who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison camp after his conviction for physically and financially harming his followers. Sergei Torop, a former traffic policeman known to his followers as "Vissarion," meaning "he who gives new life," and two aides used psychological pressure to extract money from his followers and cause serious harm to their mental and physical health, Reuters reported. Torop, 64, set up the Church of the Last Testament in a remote part of Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region in 1991, the year the Soviet Union broke up. He was one of three men convicted Monday in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. Torop and Vladimir Vedernikov were sentenced to 12 years, and Vadim Redkin was sentenced to 11 years in a maximum-security prison camp. All three men were arrested in 2020 in a helicopter raid that involved the FSB security service, the successor agency to the Soviet KGB. A bearded self-styled mystic with long hair, Torop claimed to have been "reborn" to convey the word of God. He attracted thousands of followers, some of whom flocked to live in a settlement known as the "Abode of Dawn" or "Sun City" at a time when Russia was battling poverty and lawlessness, according to Reuters. He told his followers not to eat meat, smoke, drink alcohol or swear and to stop using money. Investigators said the men brought "moral harm" to 16 people, damage to the physical health of six people and moderate damage to another person's health. Vedernikov had also been accused of committing fraud, the RIA state news agency reported.
Russia Today
01-07-2025
- Russia Today
Russian ‘Jesus' sentenced to 12 years
A Russian court has sentenced Sergey Torop, a former traffic policeman who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, to 12 years in a maximum-security prison. Torop was convicted of causing psychological and physical harm to his followers and financially exploiting them. Torop, who goes by the name Vissarion, founded the Church of the Last Testament in 1991 in Russia's Krasnoyarsk region. The sect attracted thousands of followers with its strict lifestyle that bans meat, alcohol, smoking, swearing, and the use of money. Its members live as vegetarian subsistence farmers in remote Siberian settlements. The Novosibirsk court also sentenced Torop's aides, Vladimir Vedernikov and Vadim Redkin, to 12 and 11 years, respectively. All three denied any wrongdoing during the trial, and were ordered to pay 40 million rubles (around $511,500) in moral damages. The charges stem from activities between 1991 and 2020, during which investigators found that 16 individuals suffered moral harm, six sustained severe injuries, and one saw his health deteriorate due to the sect's practices. The movement came under legal scrutiny on two separate occasions in 2020. In February of that year, members of the church were interrogated as part of an investigation into corruption and fraud at the Istoki School, which is attended by the children of Vissarion's followers. Then in August, a criminal case was opened after representatives of the self-styled prophet prevented journalists from filming inside the community. In September, 2020 Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) raided and arrested Torop and several of his associates, following allegations of psychological pressure and financial exploitation within the sect. During the raid, police found a stash of jewelry, weapons, adult toys, and money, including rubles, dollars and euros. Officially registered in 1995 as a religious organization, the Church of the Last Testament was later dissolved following legal actions against its leaders. The sect gained international attention in 2012 when Vice News released a YouTube documentary titled Siberian Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus.
Reuters
30-06-2025
- Reuters
Russia jails 'Jesus of Siberia' sect leader for 12 years for harming followers
June 30 (Reuters) - A Russian sect leader who claimed he was Jesus Christ reincarnated was sentenced to 12 years in a prison camp on Monday after being convicted of harming his followers' health and financial affairs. Sergei Torop, a former traffic policeman known to his followers as 'Vissarion', set up the Church of the Last Testament in a remote but picturesque part of Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region in 1991, the year the Soviet Union broke up. A bearded self-styled mystic with long hair, he claimed to have been "reborn" to convey the word of God and attracted thousands of followers, some of whom flocked to live in a settlement known as the "Abode of Dawn" or "Sun City", at a time when Russia was battling poverty and lawlessness. Torop, 64, told his followers, who regularly intoned prayers in his honour as they looked up to his large hilltop residence, not to eat meat, not to smoke, not to drink alcohol or swear, and to stop using money. But the Investigative Committee, Russia's equivalent of the U.S. FBI, accused Torop and two aides of using psychological pressure to extract money from his followers and of causing serious harm to their mental and physical health. In a statement on Monday, a court in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk said it had convicted the three men, sentencing Torop and Vladimir Vedernikov to 12 years and Vadim Redkin to 11 years in a maximum-security prison camp. They were also ordered to pay 40 million roubles ($511,500) to compensate their victims for "moral damage". All three denied wrongdoing. Torop and the two aides were arrested in a security forces raid by helicopter in 2020 that involved the FSB security service, the successor agency to the Soviet KGB. According to the RIA state news agency, investigators said the men had caused "moral harm" to 16 people, serious damage to the physical health of six people, and moderate damage to another person's health. Vedernikov, one of the aides, had also been accused of committing fraud, RIA said. In a 2017 BBC documentary, filmmaker Simon Reeve interviewed Torop, who denied any wrongdoing. The film showed how school girls whose parents were his followers were being educated to be what a local teacher called "future brides for worthy men." ($1 = 78.1955 roubles)
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Yahoo
Russia jails 'Jesus of Siberia' sect leader for 12 years for harming followers
By Andrew Osborn (Reuters) -A Russian sect leader who claimed he was Jesus Christ reincarnated was sentenced to 12 years in a prison camp on Monday after being convicted of harming his followers' health and financial affairs. Sergei Torop, a former traffic policeman known to his followers as 'Vissarion', set up the Church of the Last Testament in a remote but picturesque part of Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region in 1991, the year the Soviet Union broke up. A bearded self-styled mystic with long hair, he claimed to have been "reborn" to convey the word of God and attracted thousands of followers, some of whom flocked to live in a settlement known as the "Abode of Dawn" or "Sun City", at a time when Russia was battling poverty and lawlessness. Torop, 64, told his followers, who regularly intoned prayers in his honour as they looked up to his large hilltop residence, not to eat meat, not to smoke, not to drink alcohol or swear, and to stop using money. But the Investigative Committee, Russia's equivalent of the U.S. FBI, accused Torop and two aides of using psychological pressure to extract money from his followers and of causing serious harm to their mental and physical health. In a statement on Monday, a court in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk said it had convicted the three men, sentencing Torop and Vladimir Vedernikov to 12 years and Vadim Redkin to 11 years in a maximum-security prison camp. They were also ordered to pay 40 million roubles ($511,500) to compensate their victims for "moral damage". All three denied wrongdoing. Torop and the two aides were arrested in a security forces raid by helicopter in 2020 that involved the FSB security service, the successor agency to the Soviet KGB. According to the RIA state news agency, investigators said the men had caused "moral harm" to 16 people, serious damage to the physical health of six people, and moderate damage to another person's health. Vedernikov, one of the aides, had also been accused of committing fraud, RIA said. In a 2017 BBC documentary, filmmaker Simon Reeve interviewed Torop, who denied any wrongdoing. The film showed how school girls whose parents were his followers were being educated to be what a local teacher called "future brides for worthy men." ($1 = 78.1955 roubles)
