The Peoples Church, Toronto Am

Richard Wurmbrand
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Richard Wurmbrand

Richard Wurmbrand (1909–2001). Born on March 24, 1909, in Bucharest, Romania, to a Jewish family, Richard Wurmbrand converted to Christianity in 1938 after meeting a German carpenter, Christian Wolfkes, in a remote village. Initially an atheist and businessman, he became an ordained Lutheran pastor, ministering in Romania’s underground church under Nazi and Communist regimes. Arrested in 1948 by the Communist government for his faith, he spent 14 years in prison, including three in solitary confinement, enduring torture for preaching Christ. Released in 1964 after a $10,000 ransom paid by Norwegian Christians, he and his wife, Sabina, who was also imprisoned, emigrated to the U.S. in 1966. In 1967, they founded Voice of the Martyrs (originally Jesus to the Communist World), advocating for persecuted Christians worldwide. Wurmbrand authored 18 books, including Tortured for Christ (1967), In God’s Underground (1968), and The Overcomers (1998), detailing his experiences and faith. A powerful speaker, he testified before the U.S. Senate, baring scars to highlight persecution. Married to Sabina from 1936 until her death in 2000, they had one son, Mihai, and he died on February 17, 2001, in Torrance, California. Wurmbrand said, “It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners, so it was understood that whoever was caught doing it got beaten—but we preached anyway.”