Maria Devi Khristos

Maria Devi Christos (Nee: Marina Tsvigun) was, along with Urii Krivonogii, the leader of the influential and seemingly omnipresent early 1990s cult called the Great White Brotherhood of YUSMALOS. Tsvigun and Krivonogii founded the cult between 1990-1991 in Kiev, rapidly spreading throughout the Post-Soviet world. They declared Marina Tsvigun a god, and a reincarnation of Christ in 1990s, combining elements of theosophy (the “White Brotherhood” is a term from Helena Blavatskaia’s teachings) and New Age astrology (YUSMALOS is an acronym for Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Moon, Orion, and Sirius). The movement was highly popular, and fliers featuring Marina Tsvigun in her persona as the reincarnation of Christ appeared in virtually every major city in the Post-Soviet world, prompting numerous parodies and exposing a populace curious for spiritual discourse to the rich spring that is New Age cults. By 1991, their influence had spread sufficiently that the Ukranian Orthodox Church declared Maria Devi Christos herself to be anathema, casting her believers (who still nominally considered themselves Christians) out as heretics. Soon after, criminal prosecution of YUSMALOS began in earnest on the part of the secular authorities.

On November 10th, 1993 the cult sealed its own fate, by attempting to forcibly seize Kiev’s historic Saint Sophia Cathedral for themselves. It is not clear what they expected would happen, but the raid was a disaster, and the cultists were stopped by the police, leading to the arrests of both Tsvigun and Krivonogii. As a consequence, Tsvigun received four years in prison, while Krivonogii received six. Despite her shorter term, Tsvigun denounced Krivonogii as a Judas already during the much-publicized trial. She went right back to running the cult after completing her sentence, reforming it in 1997, unsuccessfully petitioning the Ukranian government for recognition, and eventually setting up headquarters in Moscow instead. The cult is still very active today, both in Moscow and online. Krivonogii, for his part, denounced Tsvigun’s divinity after leaving prison in 2000.