Waldensians

Waldensian Evangelical Church
Statue of Peter Waldo at the Luther Memorial at Worms, Germany.
Founders:	disputed
Founding date:	disputed
Headquarters:	Torre Pellice, Piemonte, Italy
Countries:	Primarily Italy, France, Germany and South America.
Website:	www.chiesavaldese.org

Waldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian movement of the later Middle Ages, descendants of which still exist in various regions. Over time, the denomination joined the Genevan or Reformed branch of Protestantism. About the earlier history of the Waldenses considerable uncertainty exists because of a lack of extant source material. They were persecuted as heretical in the 12th century onwards, endured near annihilation in the 17th century, and were then confronted with organized and generalized discrimination in centuries that followed. There are active congregations in Europe, South America, and North America. The contemporary and historic Waldensian spiritual heritage includes proclaiming the Gospel, serving the marginalized, promoting social justice, fostering inter-religious work, and advocating respect for religious diversity and freedom of conscience. Modern Waldensians are gathered in the Waldensian Evangelical Church.

General description

Burning of the Waldensians in Toulouse in the 13th century.

The earliest Waldensians believed in the Bible as the sole rule of faith, preaching and the personal study of the scriptures. In 1179, some Waldensians went to Rome, where Pope Alexander III forbade preaching without authorization from the local clergy. They disobeyed and began to preach according to their own understanding of scripture. Seen by the Church as unorthodox, they were formally declared heretics by Pope Lucius III in 1184 at the Synod of Verona, and by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.(At that time, the Catholic Church was the main religious power in Europe). In 1211 more than 80 were burned as heretics at Strasbourg, beginning several centuries of persecution that nearly destroyed the sect. Part of their legacy is recognized as works of the writer Henri Arnaud. The Waldensian Church of Italy has survived to the present day.

History

Ancient origins asserted and disputed

Some groups of Mennonites, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and other Protestants claim that the Waldenses' history extends back to the Apostles. Some Waldenses claimed for their churches an Apostolic origin, although the modern Waldensian churches claim they start with Peter Waldo. Many Roman Catholics also believe the Waldensians were followers of Peter Waldo.

The supporters of the ancient origin claim the Waldenses' name did not in fact come from Peter Waldo but from the area in which they lived. They claim Peter Waldo in fact got his name by association with the Waldenses. This thought was current in the early 19th century:

"Some Protestants, on this occasion, have fallen into the snare that was set for them...It is absolutely false, that these churches were ever found by Peter Waldo...it is a pure forgery."

"It is not true, that Waldo gave this name to the inhabitants of the valleys: they were called Waldenses, or Vaudes, before his time, from the valleys in which they dwelt."

"On the other hand, he "was called Valdus, or Waldo, because he received his religious notions from the inhabitants of the valleys."

The claim of an ancient origin has been accepted as valid by some Protestant historians. The Alexandrine La Nòbla Leiçon written in Old Occitan ("The Noble Lesson"), has traditionally been thought to have been composed in 1100, but some scholarship disputes this, now dating it between 1190 and 1240. Other scholars claimed Claudius, Bishop of Turin (died 840), Berengarius of Tours (died 1088), or other such men preceded Peter Waldo as the founder of the group. Ernesto Comba, who was professor of the theological faculty of the Waldensian school in Florence, presented arguments to demonstrate that the name Waldenses derived from valley ("vallis densa" valdensis) and that they already existed before the time of Peter Waldo.

It must also be noted, in the context of a discussion about the origins of the Waldensians, that the Church of Rome would have, and still has, a vested interest in casting doubt upon outside claims of the Waldensian church being ancient because of her own claim to 'Apostolic Succession'. Likewise, some Protestant groups attempt to claim a form of apostolic succession from the Waldensians, and their vested interest in the Waldensians being ancient (despite their own claims to the contrary) must be noted as well.

Another 19th century scholar and Free Church of Scotland minister, Rev. Dr. J.A. Wylie, 1808–1890, in his book 'The History of Protestantism [Vol I]' states, in chapter six, that,'Their [the Waldensian] traditions invariably point to an unbroken descent from the earliest times, as regards their religious belief.'

Dr Wylie goes on to argue:

'The Nobla Leycon, though a poem, is in reality a confession of faith, and could have been composed only after some considerable study of the system of Christianity, in contradistinction to the errors of Rome. ........ Their greatest enemies, Claude Seyssel of Turin (1517), and Reynerius the Inquisitor (1250), have admitted their antiquity, and stigmatized them as "the most dangerous of all heretics, because the most ancient."

Wylie's quote comes from Claude Seyssel of Turin, who lived centuries after Peter Waldo. Reynerius the Inquisitor (who lived two generations after Waldo) does not actually assert an ancient origin, but states that they had been around only "a long time."

Origins in the early centuries

According to the fourth-century church historian Eusebius, in the second century there were many Christian churches in and around the Alpine area. The Christians at Lyon requested Polycarp of Smyrna to send some men; in the year 160 or 161, Pothinus and Irenaeus with some others arrived at Lyon to help the church there. In 177, Pothinus and 47 other Christians lost their lives in persecution there. Between 286 and 290, the Christians there under Maximian again suffered under persecution. After the last severe persecution under Diocletian, a better time broke through for these Gallic Christians.

We might well suppose that during these early times of oppression, many of these Christians sought and found shelter in the nearby mountains where in later ages the Waldenses also found their hiding place. It is not impossible, therefore, that in these mountain-valleys the Waldenses had their early roots, as Dr. Faber plainly asserted: "Hither their ancestors retired, during the persecutions of the second and third and fourth centuries: here, providentially secluded from the world, they retained the precise doctrines and practices of the Primitive Church endeared to them by suffering and exile." Followers of Jovinianus (330-390) who protested against the papacy and awakened great interest "took refuge in the Alpine valleys and there kept alive the evangelical teaching that was to reappear with vigor in the twelfth century." One historian said that from Asia Minor the seeds of Christianity were blown over to Lyon and that it is "remarkable that after a thousand years the same spirit comes up again [in Waldo's time] in that same Lyon." These reports correspond remarkably well with the words of Ellen White that in this area for a thousand years witnesses for the truth maintained the ancient faith.

It cannot be maintained therefore that the Waldenses "are simply the followers of Waldo of Lyons. It does not appear that he simply founded the community `de novo' or that its evangelical and Protestant character is entirely due to his influence."Waldo had a solid backdrop of spiritual relatives who had lived and preached before him. The principles for a reform movement to bring the decaying church back to the true fountain of Christianity had already been present for centuries before him, among both clergy and people.

In fact, many believe it is hardly imaginable that Waldo could have started such a new movement, previously unknown, and all at once had so many dedicated followers. Allix remarked that if we suppose Waldo to be the founder, it is "unquestionably plain, that it was impossible for a sect to spread itself so far and wide in so short a pace of time." And Wylie wrote, "If we grant that their religious beliefs were the heritage of former ages handed down from an evangelical ancestry, all is plain; but if we maintain that they were the discovery of the men of those days, we assert what approaches almost to a miracle."

Origins in the Middle Ages

According to those who do not believe the Waldensians came from apostolic origins, such believe the Waldensians started with Peter Waldo, who began to preach on the streets of Lyon in 1177.

Catholic response to Waldensians

Illustrations depicting Waldensians as witches in Le champion des dames, by Martin Le France, 1451.

The members of the group were declared schismatics in 1184 in France and heretics more widely in 1215 by the Fourth Council of the Lateran's anathema. Much of what is known about the Waldensians comes from reports from Reinerius Saccho (died 1259), a former Cathar who converted to Catholicism and wrote two reports for the Inquisition, Summa de Catharis et Pauperibus de Lugduno (roughly) "Of the Sects of Modern Heretics" (1254)

Persecution by the Roman Catholic Church against the Waldensians is historically noted by the famous decree against heretics, promulgated by Pope Lucian III, in the presence of, and with the support of, Frederic Barbarossa, at the council of Verona (A.D. 1183). Both the Pasaginians and the Waldensians (here referred to under the name of the “poor of Lyons” are mentioned for the first time, as follows:--

To abolish the malignity of divers heresies which are lately sprung up in most ports of the world, it is but fitting that the power committed to the church should be awakened, that by the concurring assistance of the imperial strength, both the insolence and malapert ness of the heretics in their false designs may be crushed and the truth of Catholic simplicity shining forth in the holy church, may demonstrate her pure and free from the execrableness of their false doctrines..” “More particularly, we declare all Catharists, Paterines, and those who call themselves ‘the poor of Lyons,’ the Passagines, Josephists, Arnaldists, to lie under a perpetual anathema.

— Decree of Lucian

The Waldensians preached without permission of the Catholic Church and by the early 1180s were excommunicated and forced from Lyon. The Catholic Church declared them heretics—stating the group's principal error was "contempt for ecclesiastical power"—that they dared to teach and preach outside of the control of the Roman Catholic clergy. The Waldensians were also accused by the Catholic Church of teaching "innumerable errors".

In 1229 the Catholic Church completed its Crusade against the Catharism, or Albigenses, in the south of France. The Waldenses next became objects of such efforts. The Inquisition would soon be turned mercilessly against all the church’s opponents. Fear caused the Waldenses to go underground. By 1230 they no longer preached in public. Gabriel Audisio explains: “Rather than going to seek new sheep . . . , they devoted themselves to looking after the converted, maintaining them in their faith in the face of outside pressure and persecution.” He adds that “preaching remained essential but had completely changed in practice.”

Historic doctrine

Main articles: Whore of Babylon (historicism) and Antichrist (historicism)

Among the earliest beliefs taught by the Waldensians were the rejecting of Roman Catholic traditions such as purgatory, the mass, and of indulgences and prayers for the dead. They considered all lying as a serious sin, they refused to take oaths and considered the shedding of human blood a crime. They consequently condemned war and the death penalty.

Historically Waldenses rejected image worship, transubstantiation, infant baptism, purgatory, the worship of Mary, prayers to saints, veneration of the cross and relics, deathbed repentance, confession to priests, Masses for the dead, papal pardons and indulgences, priestly celibacy and the use of carnal weapons. Waldenses challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of their belief that it was not based on the Scriptures.

"The Waldensians all dated the fall of the Roman church from the days of Constantine and Roman Bishop Sylvester; they thought the pope to be the Antichrist, and the Roman Church to be Babylon the Great. They taught that the true church consisted only of believers, and in that sense it had existed unchangeable. They highly valued the translations of the Bible in their respective languages, so that every on might read “in his own tongue the wonderful doings of the Lord.” They studied god’s Word so diligently that many knew large portions of it by heart. Even their adversaries had to give them credit for their great knowledge of the Bible."

The Waldensians rejected Catholic teachings such as infant baptism, prayers for the dead and the pope having the ability to forgive sins.

They developed a system whereby they would go from town to town and meet secretly with small groups of Waldensians. A traveling Waldensian preacher was known as a barba, and there is even record of some women holding that office. The group would shelter and house the barba and help make arrangements to move on to the next town in secret.

Reformation

The Waldenses were most successful in Dauphiné and Piedmont and had permanent communities in the Cottian Alps southwest of Turin. In 1487 at the insistence of Pope Innocent VIII a persecution overwhelmed the Dauphiné Waldenses, but those in Piedmont defended themselves successfully. A crusade against Waldensians in the Dauphiné region of France was declared in 1487, but Papal representatives continued to devastate towns and villages into the mid-16th century as the Waldensians became absorbed into the wider Protestant Reformation.

When the news of the Reformation reached the Waldensian Valleys, the Tavola Valdese decided to seek fellowship with the nascent Protestantism. A Synod held 1526 in Laus, a town in Chisone valley, decided to send envoys to examine the new movement.

In 1532 they met with German and Swiss Protestants and ultimately adapted their beliefs to those of the Reformed Church. Moreover, the Waldensian absorption into Protestantism led to their transformation from a group on the edge of Catholicism that shared many Catholic beliefs into a Protestant church adhering to the theology of John Calvin, which differed much from the beliefs of Peter Waldo. From that moment the Church became the Italian branch of Reformed churches.

The Swiss and French Reformed churches sent William Farel and Anthony Saunier to attend the Synod of Chanforan, which convened in October, 12th 1532. Farel invited them to join the Reformation and to leave secrecy. A Confession of Faith, with Reformed doctrines, was formulated and the Waldensians decided to worship openly in French.

The French Bible translated by Pierre Robert Olivétan with the help of Calvin and published at Neuchâtel in 1535 was based in part on a New Testament in the Waldensian vernacular. The cost of its publication was defrayed by the churches in Waldensia who collected the sum of 1500 gold crowns for this purpose.

Massacre of Mérindol (1545)

Main article: Massacre of Mérindol

Massacre of the Waldensians of Mérindol in 1545.

Outside the Piedmont the Waldenses joined the local Protestant churches in Bohemia, France and Germany. After they came out of clandestinity and reports were made of sedition on their part, the French king, Francis I issued on 1 January 1545 the "Arrêt de Mérindol", and armed an army against the Waldensians of Provence. The leaders in the 1545 massacres were Jean Maynier d'Oppède, First President of the parlement of Provence, and the military commander Antoine Escalin des Aimars who was returning from the Italian Wars with 2,000 veterans, the Bandes de Piémont. Deaths in the Massacre of Mérindol ranged from hundreds to thousands, depending on the estimates, and several villages were devastated.

The treaty of 5 June 1561 granted amnesty to the Protestants of the Valleys, including liberty of conscience and freedom to worship. Prisoners were released and fugitives were permitted to return home. The Reformation was also somewhat beneficial to the Vaudois, with the religious reformers showing them respect, but they still suffered in the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598).

As early as 1631, Protestants scholars began to regard the Waldensians as early forerunners of the Reformation, alike how the followers of John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were regarded, who were similarly persecuted by Roman Catholic authorities.

Later history

In 1655 the Duke of Savoy commanded the Vaudois to attend Mass or remove to the upper valleys, giving them twenty days in which to sell their lands. In a most severe winter these targets of persecution, old men, women, little children and the sick "waded through the icy waters, climbed the frozen peaks, and at length reached the homes of their impoverished brethren of the upper Valleys, where they were warmly received." There they found refuge and rest. Deceived by false reports of Vaudois resistance, the Duke sent an army. On 24 April 1655, at 4 a.m., the signal was given for a general massacre, the horrors of which can be detailed only in small part.

Print illustrating the 1655 massacre in La Torre, from Samuel Morelands "History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piemont" published in London in 1658.

The massacre was so brutal it aroused indignation throughout Europe. Oliver Cromwell, then ruler in England, began petitioning on behalf of the Vaudois, writing letters, raising contributions, calling a general fast in England and threatening to send military forces to the rescue. The massacre prompted John Milton's famous poem on the Waldenses, "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont". The resistance which lasted into the 1660s was then led by a farmer, Josué Janavel.

Waldensian Church of Florence, Italy

In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had guaranteed freedom of religion to his Protestant subjects in France. The cousin of Louis, The Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II followed his uncle in removing the protection of Protestants in the Piedmont. In the renewed persecution, an edict decreed that all inhabitants of the Valleys should publicly announce their error in religion within fifteen days under penalty of death and banishment and the destruction of all the Vaudois churches. Armies of French and Piedmontese soldiers invaded the Valleys, laying them waste and perpetrating cruelties upon the inhabitants. A pastor Henri Arnaud sought help from William of Orange. He gathered a band of followers in Switzerland; and in 1689 made an attempt to regain their homes in the valleys.

After the French Revolution the Waldenses of Piedmont were assured liberty of conscience, and in 1848, the ruler of Savoy, King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted them civil rights. Copies of the Romaunt version of the Gospel of John were preserved in Paris and Dublin. The manuscripts were used as the basis of a work by Gilly published in 1848, in which it was related to the history of the New Testament in use by the Waldensians. A group of Waldensians settled in the United States at Valdese, North Carolina.

Later denominations such as Anabaptists and Baptists also began to point to the Waldensians as an example of earlier Christians who were not a part of the Roman Catholic Church, and held beliefs similar to their own. The Mennonite book Martyrs Mirror lists them in this regard as it attempts to trace the history of believer's baptism back to the apostles. James Aitken Wylie (1808–1890) likewise believed that the Waldensians preserved the apostolic faith during the Middle Ages. Still later, Seventh-day Adventist Ellen G. White taught that the Waldenses were preservers of biblical truth during the great apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church. She believed that the Waldenses kept the seventh-day Sabbath, engaged in widespread missionary activity, and "planted the seeds of the Reformation" in Europe. There is evidence of seventh-day keeping by at least some Waldenses prior to and about the time of the Reformation

Some Waldensians families joined Anabaptism. A group from North Italy fled to Switzerland for religious protection and then to Pennsylvania later on after becoming followers of Menno Simons. Some later migrate north to Canada where some of the communities still exist.

Today, the Waldensian Church is included in the Alliance of Reformed Churches of the Presbyterian Order.

Waldensians by region

Italy

The Waldensian Church in Milan, built in 1949, incorporates materials from the demolished gothic church of San Giovanni in Conca.

In 1848, after many centuries of harsh persecution, the Waldensians acquired legal freedom in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia as a result of the liberalising reforms which followed Charles Albert of Sardinia's granting a constitution (the Statuto Albertino). Subsequently the Waldensian Evangelical Church, as it became known, developed and spread through the Italian peninsula.

The Waldensian church was able to gain converts by building schools in some of the poorer regions of Italy, including Sicily. There is still a Waldensian church in the town of Grotte, Province of Agrigento at the southwest part of the island.

During the Nazi occupation of North Italy in the Second World War, Italian Waldensians were active in saving Jews faced with imminent extermination, hiding many of them in the same mountain valley where their own Waldensian ancestors had found refuge in earlier generations.

In 1975 the Waldensian Church joined the Italian Methodist Church to form the Union of Waldensian and Methodist Churches, which is a member of the World Council of Churches, of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and of the World Methodist Council. It has 50,000 members (45,000 Waldensians, of whom 30,000 in Italy and some 15,000 divided between Argentina and Uruguay, and 5,000 Methodists).

South America

The first Waldensian settlers from Italy arrived in South America in 1856 and today the Waldensian Church of the Río de La Plata (which forms a united church with the Waldensian Evangelical Church) has approximately 40 congregations and 15,000 members shared between Uruguay and Argentina.

United States of America

Since colonial times there have been Waldensians who found freedom on American shores, as marked by the presence of them in New Jersey and Delaware. In the late 19th century many Italians, among them Waldensians, emigrated to the United States. They founded communities in New York City, Chicago, Monett, Galveston and Rochester. Some Waldensians living in the Cottian Alps region of Northern Italy migrated to North Carolina in 1893 and founded the most notable Waldensian settlement in North America in Valdese, North Carolina, where the congregation uses the name Waldensian Presbyterian Church.

In 1906, through the initiative of church forces in New York City, Waldensian interest groups were invited to coalesce into a new entity, The American Waldensian Aid Society (AWS), organized "to collect funds and apply the same to the aid of the Waldensian Church in Italy and elsewhere…and to arouse and maintain interest throughout the US in the work of said Church…" Today, this organization continues as the American Waldensian Society. The American Waldensian Society recently marked its Centennial with a conference and celebrations in New York City.

By the 1920s most of the Waldensian churches and missions merged into the Presbyterian Church due to the cultural assimilation of the second and third generations.

The work of the American Waldensian Society continues in the United States today. The mission of the American Waldensian Society is to foster dialogue and partnership among Waldensian Churches in Italy and South America and Christian churches within North America in order to promote a compelling vision of Waldensian Christian witness for North America.

The vision of the society is to be a passionate witness in North America to the contemporary and historic Waldensian spiritual heritage: to Proclaim the Gospel; to Serve among the Marginalized; to Promote Social Justice; to Foster Inter-religious Work; and to Advocate Respect for Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience.

There exists a group under the name "The Old Waldensian Church of Anabaptists" that claim to have originally come from the Italian organization but after coming to America has maintained independence from church organizations or government incorporation including any tax exemption status. Once a sizable Church they have dwindled today to a very small group in Ohio and another in Pennsylvania.

The most well known Waldensian Churches in America were in New York and in Valdese, North Carolina. There is no longer a church in New York City.

The American Waldensian Society assists churches, organizations and families in the promotion of Waldensian history and culture. The society is friend to those who work to preserve their millennial heritage among their descendants. For example, over the course of 41 years, the Old Colony Players in Valdese, North Carolina, have staged " From this Day Forward", an outdoor drama telling the story of the Waldenses and the founding of Valdese.

Both the Waldensian Presbyterian Church and the American Waldensian Society have links with the Italian-based Waldensian Evangelical Church, but, unlike the South American Waldensian communities, they are independent from it.

Germany

In 1698 approximately 3,000-3,200 Waldenses fled from Italy and came to South Rhine valley. Most of them returned to their Piedmont valleys, but those who remained in Germany were assimilated by the State Churches (Lutheran and Reformed) and 10 congregations exist today as part of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland.

Characteristics of the modern Waldensian Church

Today

The present Waldensian Church considers itself to be a Christian Protestant church of the Reformed tradition originally framed by Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin. It recognizes as its doctrinal standard the confession of faith published in 1655 and based on the Reformed confession of 1559. It admits only two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper. Supreme authority in the body is exercised by an annual synod, and the affairs of the individual congregations are administered by a consistory under the presidency of the pastor.

Over the centuries, Waldensian churches have been established in countries as far away from France as Uruguay and the United States. However, most historians agree with Audisio, who says that “Waldensianism came to an end at the time of the Reformation,” when it was “swallowed up” by Protestantism.

See also

• Waldensian Evangelical Church
• Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches
• List of Italian religious minority politicians
• Henri Arnaud, writer, pastor, and soldier
• John Jacob Astor, American merchant and trader
• Italo Calvino, writer
• Luigi Comencini, film director
• Durand of Huesca, early follower of Peter Waldo (later re-converted to Catholicism)
• Paolo Ferrero, politician
• Riccardo Illy, politician
• Lucio Malan, politician
• Domenico Maselli, politician and pastor
• Giovanni Morelli, art historian
• Adriano Olivetti, industrialist (Waldensian mother, became Catholic as an adult)
• Rosario Olivo, politician
• Frederick Henry Snow Pendleton, Anglican protector in South America
• Valdo Spini, politician and writer

Works related to Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont at Wikisource Works related to An Inquiry into the History and Theology of the Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses at Wikisource Works related to The Waldensian Church in the valleys of Piedmont at Wikisource Media related to Waldensians at Wikimedia Commons

Further reading

• Audisio, Gabriel, The Waldensian Dissent: Persecution and Survival, c.1170–c.1570, (1999) Cambridge Medieval Textbooks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-55984-7
• Cameron, Euan, The Waldenses: Rejections of Holy Church in Medieval Europe, (2001) ISBN 0-631-22497-1, ISBN 978-0-631-22497-6
• Comba, Emilio, History of the Waldenses of Italy, from their origin to the Reformation, (1978) ISBN 0-404-16119-7
• Muston, Alexis, The Israel of the Alps : a complete history of the Waldenses and their colonies : prepared in great part from unpublished documents, (1978) ISBN 0-404-16140-5
• Wylie, James Aitken, History of the Waldenses, (c.1860) ISBN 1-57258-185-9, online ebook

External links

• American Waldensian Society, North America
• Iglesia Valdense, South America
• Waldenses at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
• Waldenservereinigung, Germany
• Waldensian History, A Brief Sketch, by Ronald F. Malan, M.A.
• Waldensians: Medieval Reformers, Waldensian history from a Reformed perspective
• The Waldensians chapter from the book The Great Controversy by Ellen White