Biography
Father Bielmann was born in Volmer in 1878. He graduated from the Saratov Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1897. He served the parishes in Ober-Monjou from 22 January 1901 to 1909 and in Katharinenstadt in 1909 before going to Rosental in Crimea and Rozhdestvenskoye in the Caucasus.
From 1914 to 1917, he served in Semenovskoye in the Caucasus. From 1917 to 1923 he was pastor of the church in Seelmann. In 1923 he was arrested for convening an illegal meeting of believers; released two weeks later. On 2 February 1930, he was arrested in Armavir and pressured to collaborate with the GPU. He refused to collaborate and wrote a letter to the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) about the pressure put on him. He was sent to Butyrka Prison for further investigation. On 6 June 1931, Father Beilmann was sentenced to three years in corrective labor camps. This sentence was commuted to three years’ exile [OGPU Collegium].
In 1934 he was released and he settled in Voronezh. On 4 January 1935, he was arrested again in a pogrom against Catholic clergy. From 16-19 November 1935 he was tried in a closed trial in Voronezh, convicted and sentenced to ten years in corrective labor camps. He was sent to Belbaltlag (Kuzema Station on the Kirov Railroad) where he died on 25 January 1940 at the age of sixty-two.
From 1914 to 1917, he served in Semenovskoye in the Caucasus. From 1917 to 1923 he was pastor of the church in Seelmann. In 1923 he was arrested for convening an illegal meeting of believers; released two weeks later. On 2 February 1930, he was arrested in Armavir and pressured to collaborate with the GPU. He refused to collaborate and wrote a letter to the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) about the pressure put on him. He was sent to Butyrka Prison for further investigation. On 6 June 1931, Father Beilmann was sentenced to three years in corrective labor camps. This sentence was commuted to three years’ exile [OGPU Collegium].
In 1934 he was released and he settled in Voronezh. On 4 January 1935, he was arrested again in a pogrom against Catholic clergy. From 16-19 November 1935 he was tried in a closed trial in Voronezh, convicted and sentenced to ten years in corrective labor camps. He was sent to Belbaltlag (Kuzema Station on the Kirov Railroad) where he died on 25 January 1940 at the age of sixty-two.
Sources
- "Book of Remembrance: Biographies of Catholic Clergy and Laity Repressed in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1918-1953" [Online]. University of Notre Dame.
- Schnurr, Joseph.
- Schnurr, Joseph.