Persecuted from 1948 to 1964, in Romania

In 1936, Richard Wurmbrand married Sabina Oster. Two years later, they began following Jesus as the Messiah. Both had been raised in Jewish families, but thanks in part to the witness of a Christian carpenter named Christian Wölfkes, they joined the Anglican Mission to the Jews in their home city of Bucharest, Romania. Growing in spiritual maturity and passion, Richard was ordained in the Anglican Church. The couple quickly began a powerful ministry, one much needed during the horrors of World War II.

As a result of the nonaggression pact between Soviet and Nazi governments in 1939, Romania was pressured to join the Axis military campaign. German forces soon occupied the country, and Romania became the Third Reich’s main source of oil. Richard and Sabina saw the violence and displacement as an opportunity for ministry and evangelism. They rescued Jewish children from dangerous ghettos and preached to Romanians hiding in the bomb shelters.

The Romanian population grew discontented with their German occupiers. The nation’s King Michael led a coup d’état against Romania’s Axis government in August of 1944, and Romania aligned itself with the Allies. In May 1945 German forces were defeated, and in August Japan surrendered, ending the war.

The war had taken a great toll on the Wurmbrands. Richard and Sabina had been captured and beaten numerous times. Sabina’s entire family had been killed in Nazi concentration camps.

They distributed over a million copies of the Gospels to Russian soldiers, cleverly disguising the scriptures as communist propaganda.

After the war, the German occupation was replaced by the Soviet Army. Richard and Sabina continued their ministry to their fellow Romanians and to the occupying forces. They joined the Lutheran Church, where Richard was ordained as a minister. They distributed over a million copies of the four Gospels to Russian soldiers in Romania, cleverly disguising the scriptures as communist propaganda. They also smuggled copies into Russia, the heart of the Soviet Union.

The new Romanian communist government, seeking to consolidate loyalty and rein in people of faith, organized a “Congress of Cults.” The gathering was attended by various religious leaders, including the Wurmbrands. One by one, in impassioned speeches, these leaders swore loyalty to the government. They extolled the virtues of communism, despite its clear attempts to control and even suppress churches.

Richard and Sabina were disgusted by the actions of their fellow leaders. Sabina said, “Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ.” Richard replied, “If I do, you’ll lose your husband.” But Sabina said what Richard knew in his heart: “I don’t wish to have a coward as a husband.” Richard stood up in front of the four thousand delegates as so many had done before him. But instead of praising communism, he bravely declared that the church’s duty is to glorify God and Christ alone.

On February 29, 1948, on his way to a church service, Richard was seized by the secret police and locked away in solitary confinement. For three years, he was confined to an underground cell with no lights or windows, where absolute silence was preserved – itself a form of sensory deprivation torture. The guards did not speak within earshot, and they wore felt on their shoes so that Richard could not even hear their steps.

After his release, in a document preparing readers to serve in the underground church, Richard wrote:

We were drugged, we were beaten. I forgot my whole theology. I forgot the whole Bible. One day I observed that I had forgotten the “Our Father.” I could not say it anymore. I knew that it began with “Our Fathe…,” but I did not know the continuation. I just kept happy and said, “Our Father, I have forgotten the prayer, but you surely know it by heart.”…For a time my prayers were, “Jesus, I love you.” And then after a little time again, “Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you.” Then it became too difficult even to say this because we were doped.…The highest form of prayer that I know is the quiet beating of a heart which loves Him. Jesus should just hear “tick-a-tock, tick-a-tock,” and he will know that every heartbeat is for him.”

Richard did not consider this time of imprisonment wasted. He slept during the day and composed and delivered sermons each night. He even attempted to evangelize other inmates by tapping Morse code messages on the wall. He wrote, “Through this code you can preach the gospel to those who are to your right and left. The prisoners always change. Some are taken out from the cell and others are put in.”