Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop (Vassarion) was born January, 14 1961. 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. In the town, he worked as a patrol officer to 1989. He is reported to have gained nine commendations during his five years of service. Torop claims that in 1990 he was "reborn" as Vissarion (meaning "he who gives new life"), claiming to be a returned Jesus Christ.
Torop is the spiritual Teacher and founder of the non-profit, religious organization “Church of the Last Testament” also known as the "Community of Unified Faith", with its head church located in the Siberian Taiga in the Minusinsk Depression east of Abakan, in the small settlement called "Abode of Dawn" (official name) or "The Sun City" (unofficial name) near Petropavlovka. The movement claims more than 10,000 followers around the world and around 4,000 living in the few settlements in Siberia near Vissarion. The Russian movement has had lots of mass media support and third party support.
