Paul Sopt

On May 2, 1950 Paul Sopt was born into a Christian family in Silindia, Romania. He and his family were persecuted for their faith by Communist leaders. Though faithfully taught the truths of the gospel of Christ, he rejected it all. Though he was well educated and could have had a good career by Romanian standards as an engineer, his heart roiled against Communist oppression. He wanted to get to America.

He married Florica in February, 1977 while still carrying his desire to leave Romania. Florica was loathe to leave her mother since she was an only child. Willing to leave Florica in order to fulfill his dream, he fled Romania. As he would later come to realize, this difficult and dangerous flight was protected by God’s gracious hand.

Arrested in Yugoslavia, he talked and schemed to keep from being sent back to Romania. He ended up in a refugee camp in Austria. It was there that fellow refugees kindly, graciously presented the gospel he already knew. But he was then ready to receive it. God saved Paul and began the transforming work that He always does in His redeemed children.

Paul finally managed to get to America. He telephoned Florica, telling her that he was a believer now and that he wanted her to come to America so they could spend their lives together. Through the wise counsel of Paul’s mother Florica decided to join Paul which was another major miracle since the Communist system blocked such requests. They settled in the Chicago area. Then in the early 1990’s, Paul moved his family to Greenville, SC. As his friend Chuck Hervas recounts, “Paul lived a quiet, unassuming life in the Greenville area. He was an expert on train braking systems and had a patent or two…He loved God, his family and America. Paul’s compelling story…was turned into a full-length play…performed at Overshadowed Theatrical Productions in the 2012-13 season under the title ‘Released’… As the seasons of life march on I am so grateful Paul was my friend. He was a gift from God to many and dearly loved by his wonderful family…(He) ran a good race (Hebrews 12.1-3).”

Paul died unexpectedly on May 20, 2021 from a cardiac event.

Paul is survived by his wife, Florica; his daughter, Joanne with her husband Shereef and son Kade; his daughter, Rebecca; and his son, Jonathan with his wife Jacqueline and son Adrian.