ADEPTS OF THE VISSARION COMMUNITY SIT IN THE SUN IN PETROPAVLOVKA VILLAGE, 2003-08-18 (photo)

Adepts of Vissarion community sit in the sun during a religious ceremony in Petropavlovka village, some 700 kms southeast of Krasnoyarsk, August 18, 2003. Sergei Torop, formerly a policeman in the town of Minusinsk, proclaims himself to be Jesus Christ and who has come to people under the name of Vissarion. He founded the sect twelve years ago in the south of the Krasnoyarsk region. Torop lives on a mountain near the lake Tiberkul and his supporters are building a 'City of the Sun' on the slopes of the mountain. They cultivate their souls, building wooden huts in pseudo-Russian style which reminds very much of illustrations to Russian folk tales for children. PP03090112 REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin AS