Richard Wurmbrand

Born into a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania, in 1909, Richard Wurmbrand was radicalized as a young man and became a Communist. But the compelling witness of a Romanian Christian couple led to his conversion to Christ. He eventually became a Lutheran pastor and, when his country became communist after World War II, publicly stood against the state control of the churches. For this he was imprisoned for 14 years, three of which he spent in solitary confinement, keeping his sanity by composing a sermon each day and memorizing it.  He was severely tortured during his imprisonment, but nevertheless carried out an effective and fruitful ministry of counsel and evangelism not only to fellow prisoners, but also to his persecutors, some of which repented of their crimes and sought God’s forgiveness. Pastor Wurmbrand was freed in 1964 and ransomed out of Romania, together with his family. He eventually settled in the USA where he founded a ministry first called Jesus to the Communist World and then Voice of the Martyrs which provides bibles and material aid to persecuted Christians world-wide. Pastor Wurmbrand was called before a US Senate sub-committee in 1966 to testify about his imprisonment. During that interview, he famously took off his shirt in front of TV cameras to reveal the scars from his brutal torture. In the ensuing years, Wurmbrand became a voice on behalf of the persecuted church and was interviewed by countless media personalities including Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Despite the profound and lasting wounds suffered in prison, Pastor Wurmbrand lived until the ripe old age of 91, having never retired from his ministry of advocating on behalf of persecuted Christians. Biography by Dr.Italy