BELFAST RB BOOKLET 2020 - Flipbook - Page 40
Ci t y of Belf ast Grand Bl ack Chapt er - Dem onst rat i on Bookl et 2020
A STORY THAT HAS INSPIRED MILLIONS
AS A MODERN DAY DANIEL IT COULD BE SAID OF THE EVANGELIST,
PASTOR RICHARD WURMBRAND THAT HE STOOD IN THE MIDST OF
LIONS, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DEVOUR HIM.
Born in Bucharest, Romania on March 24th,
1909 and youngest of four boys in a Jewish
family, Richard was intellectually gifted, being
fluent in nine languages. Whilst he was active
in leftist politics, Richard was working as a
stockbroker when he married Sabina Oster,
also Jewish, on October 26th, 1936.
Two years later as a result of the
influence of a German carpenter and
evangelist Christian Wölfkes, Richard was
ordained as an Anglican and later, as a
Lutheran minister. During World War II
both Richard and Sabina saw the
opportunity to spread their evangelism
amongst the occupying German forces.
They preached in bomb shelters and with
Sabina having lost her Jewish family through
being detained within the various Nazi
concentration camps, they endeavoured to
rescue many Jewish children out of the
ghettos before being informed upon, whereby
Richard and Sabina were both arrested and
repeatedly beaten; even on one occasion,
near to being executed.
In 1945 when Romanian Communists
seized power and a million Russian troops
poured into the country. Pastor Wurmbrand
ministered to his oppressed countrymen
whilst at the same he also engaged in
preaching evangelism to the Russian soldiers.
That same year, Richard and Sabina
attended the Congress of Cults which was
organised by the local
Romanian
Communist
government.
Many religious leaders
came forward to praise
Communism and to swear
loyalty to the new regime.
All the speeches were radio
broadcasted to the entire
nation which also heard
Richard openly declare from
the same podium that their
duty was to glorify God
and Christ alone.
During the two years
between 1945 and 1947
Richard was able to
smuggle in and distribute
throughout the Russian troops, well over
one million tracts and gospel books very
often disguising them as Communist
propaganda
However on February 29th, in 1948, the
Securitate secret police kidnapped Richard as
he travelled to church and took him to their
headquarters, where he was locked up in a
solitary cell and labelled .. Prisoner Number 1.
However during his first imprisonment,
Wurmbrand’s supporters were unable to
gain any information about him; but later
found out that a false name had been used
for him in the prison records so that no
one could trace his whereabouts.
Secret police also visited Sabina posing as
released fellow prisoners then claimed to
have attended Richard's funeral in prison.
During a second imprisonment, Sabina was
even given 'the official news' of Richard’s
death, which she did not believe
Then in 1950, Sabina found herself
imprisoned where she was forced to serve
as a labourer on the Danube Canal project
leaving their nine-year-old son Mihai,
alone and homeless, although he was
lovingly cared for by their
Christian friends, who had
also risked their own
freedom if caught looking
after the children of any
political prisoner.
Richard spent three years
in solitary confinement in the
Jilava Prison where his cell
was situated twelve feet
below ground level with no
lights or windows and no
IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN - 38 - AND THE FUTURE OF THE LIVING