Church of the Last Testament (Vissarion)

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · Sergei Anatolyevich Torop (Vissarion) · 1990 · Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

What it is

This is a religious organisation and residential community, not a therapy. It was founded by Sergei Anatolyevich Torop (born 1961, Krasnodar), a former traffic-police officer who took the name Vissarion. Reported milestones: an interest in ufology and in Agni Yoga (a Theosophical offshoot); a…

Format

• No source gives session counts or durations for this population; pace is set by the client.
• Size and spread. Estimates vary widely and are not independently verified. They include about 3,000 followers in about 40 communities (Lockhart 2020, citing Lavrentieva et al. 2020), 2,000–5,000 (Meduza 2020), over 4,000 (Mediazona 2020), 5,000–10,000 (Tarasov 2023), and about 80 communities in…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• After 2023. The local registered organisation was dissolved, but followers were reported to keep living much as before.
• Version followed: the Church of the Last Testament (Церковь Последнего Завета; also called the Single or Unified Faith, «Единая вера», the United Family or Common Family) as it existed in southern Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, from 1991 to the liquidation of its registered local organisation (in force 15 February 2023) and the criminal verdict of 30 June 2025. Its self-description is taken from accounts that relay the…
• This is a religious organisation and residential community, not a therapy. It was founded by Sergei Anatolyevich Torop (born 1961, Krasnodar), a former traffic-police officer who took the name Vissarion. Reported milestones: an interest in ufology and in Agni Yoga (a Theosophical offshoot); a declaration in 1990 that he was the Son of God; a first sermon on 18 August 1991, kept as "Announcement Day"; registration in…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Core idea of change, as the movement holds it. Followers regard Vissarion as Christ returned, "the Teacher", whose word completes the Gospel. Members are taught to change themselves morally and spiritually in a shared life of work, prayer, vegetarian diet and mutual correction, as a "School of…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• a spike in fear during world crises.
• the client seeking a new Teacher in the therapist.
• prolonged grief, isolation, and drift into another high-demand group.
• relatives using the verdict as a weapon; their own grief and depression.
• fear of authorities; reluctance to be seen as testifying against friends still in the community.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.