“Jesus” arrested in secret operation

According to The Guardian, armed troops stormed the area where the sect is located, in the interior of Siberia, and arrested Torop and two of his high-ranking aides. The Russian FSB security police also participated in the operation.

The three leaders are accused of extortion and of harming their followers both physically and mentally, the BBC writes.

ARRESTED: This image, which has been released by the Russian authorities, will show Sergei Torop after Tuesday’s arrest. Photo: Investigation Committee of Russia / REUTERS / NTB
see more

Calculation of time from 1961

Torop, who lost his job with the Russian traffic police in 1989, claims he experienced an “awakening” when the Soviet Union began to crumble. Following the union’s fall, in 1991 he founded the sect known as the Church of the Last Testament. To the sect, Torop goes by the name Vissarion and claims that he is a reincarnation of Jesus.

– I’m not God. And it is wrong to consider Jesus as God. But I am the living word of God. Everything God wants to say, He says through me, Torop told The Guardian in 2002.

THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS: The sect, which is based in Siberia, is said to have several thousand followers around the world. Photo: Ilya Naymushin / REUTERS / NTB
see more

Hundreds of members of the sect currently live in the city known as the City of the Sun, located in the Kuraga region of Siberia. According to the Russian Ministry of Justice, in 2000, the sect had more than 10,000 followers worldwide.

Strict rules

The sect practices a series of rules, among others inspired by Orthodox Christianity. Also, members must be vegan and money exchange is prohibited within the cult community.

HE SAYS THAT HE IS JESUS: Sergei Torop has since created the Church of the Last Testament sect that took the name Vissarion, and claims that he is a reincarnation of Jesus. Here she is pictured in 2009. Photo: Alexander NEMENOV / AFP / NTB
see more

The members dress in Spartan clothing and have a time calculation that begins in 1961, the year Torop was born, while Christmas Eve is celebrated on his birthday on January 14.

In addition to having to live vegan, both alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, tea, yeast and wheat products, such as sugar, are prohibited, according to the BBC.

ADORED: A man looks at a portrait of Sergei Torop in a church in the Siberian town where the sect resides. The photo was taken in 2010. Photo: Ilya Naymushin / REUTERS / NTB
see more

Claiming their innocence

Torop and his accomplices have been in pretrial detention for two months, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

Torop himself pleads not guilty, denies all charges, and questions the credibility of the alleged witnesses.

He survived one of the worst mass suicides of all time.

– In the last three years, three of these people have constantly created difficulties and expressed their complaints, says Torop according to the news agency.

According to Sky News, state-run RIA Novosti reports that all three risk up to 12 years in prison if convicted.