ADF Ambassadors Journal: The Story of an Imprisoned Romanian Christian Artist

The Story of an Imprisoned Romanian Christian Artist Citește întregul articol în limba română aici: Povestea unui artist creștin român încarcerat

The Story of an Imprisoned Romanian Christian Artist

Citește întregul articol în limba română aici: Povestea unui artist creștin român încarcerat

I have read a lot about the two artists from Arizona, Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio, and what they have endured for nearly three years simply for wanting to live and work consistently with their religious beliefs. They have challenged a Phoenix law that threatens them with hefty fines and even jail time if they decline to use their artistic talents to celebrate events that violate their faith.

When I heard their stories I realized then that the freedom sought by Joanna and Breanna benefits not only them, but also all Christian artists of today’s generation and for generations to come in the land of the free.

The importance of that freedom cannot be understated!

After hearing about Joanna and Breanna’s story, I could not help but think of the atrocities committed by the Communists in Romania and other parts of the Soviet-influenced eastern European countries. Millions of people were imprisoned, tortured, mutilated, and even killed, for refusing to accept the atheist propaganda and give up their faith.

Growing up in Communist Romania

I was born and raised in communist Romania under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Because of the mistreatment and persecution for our Christian faith, my parents and I left the country in the summer of 1984 as political refugees and came to the United States.

Three years later, while I was visiting a Romanian church in Chicago, I met a beautiful, intelligent, and kindhearted Romanian girl who also came to United States with her family for religious freedom. We got married just a few short months later.

One evening, as we were talking around the dinner table, I found out about her maternal grandfather — a Christian artist who refused to give in to the pressure of the communist authorities and unceasingly painted Bible verses with floral designs. His paintings meant more than you can imagine because they surfaced at a time when revival through persecution was convicting Christians to keep their eyes on Jesus and His Word.

Arrested, tortured, sentenced for a religious artwork

One dark night, on March 13, 1959 my wife’s grandfather, Gheorghe Chișu, was picked up from his home by the Securitate (Romania’s secret police) and taken to the police station. He was not only a very talented painter and a former restorer of religious byzantine icons, but also a gifted lithographer and a humble leader in the Christian revival movement known as ”The Lord’s Army” within the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Never mind the fact that he was a peaceful man of no threat to anyone, who never broke the law, minded his own business, and cared for his wife and their five children — that night he was treated as one of the worst enemies of the Communist state of Romania.

Their house was searched for Bibles, religious song books, and Christian literature. Gheorghe and his wife were beaten in front of their children. The oldest son tried to plead with the authorities but was slapped across the face and thrown against the wall.

For the next eight months, Gheorghe was held under arrest, interrogated, and beaten numerous times. Finally, his trial was set for November 19. On the day of his trial, Gheorghe and 39 other Christian leaders were sentenced to imprisonment for six years! All of Gheorghe’s assets and personal property were confiscated by the government. Other tenants were brought by the state into the house where they lived to add to the family’s humiliation and punishment.

In the summer of 1964, Gheorghe Chișu was released from prison with all his brothers of faith one year early, on a presidential decree of pardon issued to impress the Americans with the “goodwill” of the dictator. Hardly recognizable, toothless, and malnourished, Gheorghe finally returned home. His numerous illnesses from the days of his imprisonment made the rest of his life a prolonged pain of endurance, yet his faith grew stronger knowing that God had granted him his prayers and he was able to see his family again. Even though he was never able to paint again, he rejoiced in seeing the sunrise and the sundown surrounded by his family.

Upon his release from prison he was forced to sign an agreement that he would never talk about his years in prison and how he lived his days in prison. The penalty for breaking this agreement was to cancel the pardon and start the sentence all over again. To this day, my wife remembers the quiet man who never spoke of his imprisonment and never had anything bad to say about anyone; the family’s patriarch who could be seen in prayer just about every hour, petitioning God for grace and freedom for the church in Romania. Unfortunately, he died in 1985 before communism was toppled and the Church regained its freedom. Thus, the only ones that ever spoke about Gheorghe Chișu’s days of ordeal in prison were his fellow prisoners, pastor Richard Wurmbrand – founder of the Voice of the Martyrs, renown Christian poet Traian Dorz, and renown Christian composer Nicolae Moldoveanu.

What led to the arrest of artist Gheorghe Chisu?

His work to reawaken the faith within the movement known as “The Lord’s Army” was not at all appreciated by the Stalinist communist regime installed in Romania at the end of the World War II. Being constantly under surveillance, the Securitate (the Romanian Secret Police) came toretaliate against him to eliminate him as an outcome of a religious artwork.

”Me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

The image shown here is more than just a lithographic artwork and certainly more than just another verse from Holy Scripture. It represents the sacrifice and martyrdom of the believers of the Lord’s Army in Romania in 1959, for which my wife’s maternal grandfather, Gheorghe Chișu from Cluj Napoca was arrested, tortured, and finally convicted, receiving a 6-year prison sentence.

He was imprisoned together with the composer Nicolae Moldoveanu, the poet Traian Dorz, the pastor Richard Wurmbrand, Sergiu Grosu (whose wife was imprisoned in other jails as the last secretary of Iuliu Maniu), and many others. This group of convicts consisted of 40 influential Christians “opponents of the communist regime”.

After 5 years and 3 months from his arrest (4 years and 7 months from his conviction) through a general amnesty for political prisoners he was released on parole conditioned not to talk about his imprisonment. He took with him in the ground everything he could say. After the events of 1989 other former fellow prisoners told and testified about the faith and steadfastness of the martyr Gheorghe Chișu. I pray that his faithfulness and steadfastness will be an encouragement to all his descendants, over generations and generations.

Citește întregul articol în limba română aici: Povestea unui artist creștin român încarcerat

Why I Volunteer with ADF

As I read about Joanna and Breanna and learned about their case from their attorneys and staff from Alliance Defending Freedom, I realized once again why I have joined this amazing organization as a volunteer:

I will not sit around with my arms crossed and watch the government take away our freedom.

I think of my daughters, both blessed with unique artistic talents – gifted painters and designers who have just begun to launch themselves into the real world and marketplace. What is to become of them should they ever be forced to make use of their talents for an event that violates their Christian values and personal convictions?

In this country, we should be free to live and work consistently with our faith without fear of government punishment.

Joanna and Breanna are taking a stand for that freedom. And I am proud to stand alongside Alliance Defending Freedom as a volunteer with its ADF Ambassadors program as it defends freedom for these women, for me, for my daughters, and for generations to come.