The Beauty of the Underground Church

This passage from Richard Wurmbrand’s autobiographical book recounting his persecution under the Communist government in Romania, Tortured for Christ, truly blessed me. However, as in most stories from the persecuted church, it is a double-edged sword. On the one side, I rejoice in the Lord for their steadfastness and contentment in Christ, and on the other side, I am cut deeply by my own failure to appreciate the Lord and my local body of believers with the same preciousness and reverance as those who endure under much more extreme situations. Still, this quote from Pastor Wurmbrand is beautiful and poetic. May we all learn to view the body of Christ this way and be “truly joyful Christians”. 

We of the Underground Church have no cathedrals. But is any cathedral more beautiful than the sky of heaven to which we looked when we gathered in forests? The chirping birds took the place of the organ. The fragrance of flowers was our incense. And the shabby suit of a martyr recently freed from prison was much more impressive than priestly robes. We had the moon and stars as candles. The angels were our acolytes who lit them.

I can never desribe the beauty of this Church! Often, after a secret service, Christians were caught and sent to prison. There, Christians wear chains with the gladness with which a bride wears a precious jewel received from her beloved. The waters in prison are still. They receive His kiss and His embraces, and would not change places with kings. I have found truly joyful Christians only in the Bible, in the Underground Church, and in prison (86).