Waldenses
An heretical sect which appeared in the second half of the twelfth
century and, in a considerably modified form, has survived to the
present day.
NAME AND ORIGIN
The name was derived from Waldes their founder and occurs also in
the variations of Valdesii, Vallenses. Numerous other designations
were applied to them; to their profession of extreme poverty they
owed the named of "the Poor"; from their place of origin, Lyons,
they were called "Leonistae"; and frequently the two ideas were
combined in the title "Poor Men of Lyons". Their practice of
wearing sandals or wooden shoes (sabots) caused them to be named
"Sandaliati", "Insabbatati", "Sabbatati", Sabotiers". Anxious to
surround their own history and doctrine with the halo of
antiquity, some Waldenses claimed for their churches an Apostolic
origin. The first Waldensian congregations, it was maintained,
were established by St. Paul who, on his journey to Spain, visited
the valleys of Piedmont. The history of these foundations was
identified with that of primitive Christendom as long as the
Church remained lowly and poor. But in the beginning of the fourth
century Pope Sylvester was raised by Constantine, whom he had
cured of leprosy, to a position of power and wealth, and the
Papacy became unfaithful to its mission. Some Christians, however,
remained true to the Faith and practice of the early days, and in
the twelfth century a certain Peter appeared who, from the valleys
of the Alps, was called "Waldes". He was not the founder of a new
sect, but a missionary among these faithful observers of the
genuine Christian law, and he gained numerous adherents. This
account was, indeed, far from being universally accredited among
the Waldenses; many of them, however, for a considerable period
accepted as founded on fact the assertion that they originated in
the time of Constantine. Others among them considered Claudius of
Turin (died 840), Berengarius of Tours (died 1088), or other such
men who had preceded Waldes, the first representatives of the
sect. The claim of its Constantinian origin was for a long time
credulously accepted as valid by Protestant historians. In the
nineteenth century, however, it became evident to critics that the
Waldensian documents had been tampered with. As a result the
pretentious claims of the Waldenses to high antiquity were
relegated to the realm of fable.
The real founder of the sect was a wealthy merchant of Lyons who
in the early documents is called Waldes (Waldo). To this name is
added from 1368 the designation of Peter, assumed by him at his
"conversion", or more likely, attributed to him by his followers.
Few details concerning his personal history are known; there are
extant, however, two important accounts of the complete change in
his religious life; one written about 1220 by a Premonstratensian
monk, usually designated as the "anonymous chronicler of Laon";
the other by a Dominican Friar and Inquisitor Stephen of Bourbon
(died about 1262), and dates back to about the middle of the
thirteenth century. The former writer assigns a prominent place to
the influence exercised on Waldes by the history of St. Alexius,
while the latter makes no mention of it but speaks of his
acquaintance with the contents of the Bible through translations.
The history of Waldes's conversion may perhaps be reconstructed in
the following manner. Desirous of acquiring a knowledge of
biblical teaching, Waldes requested two priests to translate for
him the four Gospels. In a similar manner he subsequently obtained
translations of other Biblical books and of some writings of the
Fathers. Through the reading of these works he was attracted to
the practice of Christian perfection; his fervour increased when
one day he heard from an itinerant singer (ioculator) the history
of St. Alexius. He now consulted a master of theology on the best
and surest way to salvation. In answer the words of Christ to the
rich young man were cited to him: "If thou wilt be perfect, go
sell what thou hast, and give to the poor." (Matt., xix, 21).
Waldes immediately put into effect the counsel of the Divine
Master. He made over part of his wealth to his wife, part to those
from whom he had acquired it, left some to the nuns of Fontevrault
in whose monastery he placed his two little daughters, and
distributed the greatest part to the poor. On the feast of the
Assumption, 1176, he disposed of the last of his earthly
possessions and shortly after took the vow of poverty. His example
created a great stir in Lyons and soon found imitators,
particularly among the lower and uneducated classes. A special
confraternity was established for the practice of apostolic
poverty. Its members almost immediately began to preach in the
streets and public places and gained more adherents. Their
preaching, however, was not unmixed with doctrinal error and was
consequently prohibited, according to Stephen of Bourbon, by the
Archbishop of Lyons, according to Walter Map, present at the
assembly, by the Third General Lateran Council (1179). The
Waldenses, instead of heeding the prohibition, continued to preach
on the plea that obedience is due rather to God than to man. Pope
Lucius III consequently included them among the heretics against
whom he issued a Bull of excommunication at Verona in 1184.
DOCTRINE
The organization of the Waldenses was a reaction against the great
splendour and outward display existing in the medieval Church; it
was a practical protest against the worldly lives of some
contemporary churchmen. Amid such ecclesiastical conditions the
Waldenses made the profession of extreme poverty a prominent
feature in their own lives, and emphasized by their practice the
need for the much neglected task of preaching. As they were mainly
recruited among circles not only devoid of theological training,
but also lacking generally in education, it was inevitable that
error should mar their teaching, and just as inevitable that, in
consequence, ecclesiastical authorities should put a stop to their
evangelistic work. Among the doctrinal errors which they
propagated was the denial of purgatory, and of indulgences and
prayers for the dead. They denounced all lying as a grievous sin,
refused to take oaths and considered the shedding of human blood
unlawful. They consequently condemned war and the infliction of
the death penalty. Some points in this teaching so strikingly
resemble the Cathari that the borrowing of the Waldenses from them
may be looked upon as a certainty. Both sects also had a similar
organization, being divided into two classes, the Perfect
(perfecti) and the Friends or Believers (amici or credentes). (See
CATHARI and ALBIGENSES.)
Among the Waldenses the perfect, bound by the vow of poverty,
wandered about from place to place preaching. Such an itinerant
life was ill-suited for the married state, and to the profession
of poverty they added the vow of chastity. Married persons who
desired to join them were permitted to dissolve their union
without the consent of their consort. Orderly government was
secured by the additional vow of obedience to superiors. The
perfect were not allowed to perform manual labour, but were to
depend for their subsistence on the members of the sect known as
the friends. These continued to live in the world, married, owned
property, and engaged in secular pursuits. Their generosity and
alms were to provide for the material needs of the perfect. The
friends remained in union with the Catholic Church and continued
to receive its sacraments with the exception of penance, for which
they sought out, whenever possible, one of their own ministers.
The name Waldenses was at first exclusively reserved to the
perfect; but in the course of the thirteenth century the friends
were also included in the designation. The perfect were divided
into the three classes of bishops, priests, and deacons. The
bishop, called "major" or "majoralis", preached and administered
the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and order. The celebration
of the Eucharist, frequent perhaps in the early period, soon took
place only on Holy Thursday. The priest preached and enjoyed
limited faculties for the hearing of confessions. The deacon,
named "junior" or "minor", acted as assistant to the higher orders
and by the collection of alms relieved them of all material care.
The bishop was elected by a joint meeting of priests and deacons.
In his consecration, as well as in the ordination of the other
members of the clergy, the laying-on of hands was the principal
element; but the recitation of the Our Father, so important in the
Waldensian liturgy, was also a prominent feature. The power of
jurisdiction seems to have been exercised exclusively by one
bishop, known as the "rector", who was the highest executive
officer. Supreme legislative power was vested in the general
convention or general chapter, which met once or twice a year, and
was originally composed of the perfect but at a later date only of
the senior members among them. It considered the general situation
of the sect, examined the religious condition of the individual
districts, admitted to the episcopate, priesthood, or diaconate,
and pronounced upon the admission of new members and the expulsion
of unworthy ones.
The Lombard communities were in several respects more radical than
the French. Holding that the validity of the sacraments depends on
the worthiness of the minister and viewing the Catholic Church as
the community of Satan, they rejected its entire organization in
so far as it was not based on the Scriptures. In regard to the
reception of the sacraments, their practice was less radical than
their theory. Although they looked upon the Catholic priests as
unworthy ministers, they not infrequently received communion at
their hands and justified this course on the grounds that God
nullifies the defect of the minister and directly grants his grace
to the worthy recipient. The present Waldensian Church may be
regarded as a Protestant sect of the Calvinistic type. 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.
HISTORY
The Waldenses in France and Spain
The preaching of Waldes and his disciples obtained immediate
success not only in France, but also in Italy and Spain. The
Italian adherents at a very early date constituted themselves
independently. In France the movement gained ground particularly
in the South, whence it spread to Northern Spain. The Church
sought to avert by persuasion the danger of numerous defections.
As early as 1191 a religious conference was held between Catholics
and Waldenses at a place which has not been recorded; it was
followed by a second held at Pamiers in 1207. The latter meeting
brought about a return to the Church of Duran of Huesca and
several other Waldenses. With the authorization of Innocent III
they organized themselves into the special religious order of the
Poor Catholics for the conversion of Waldenses. This purpose was
attained only in a very small degree; but force soon checked the
heretical movement. In 1192 Bishop Otto of Toul ordered all
Waldenses to be put in chains and delivered up to the episcopal
tribunal. Two years later King Alphonso II of Aragon banished them
from his dominions and forbade anyone to furnish them with shelter
or food. These provisions were renewed by Pedro II at the Council
of Gerona (1197), and death by burning was decreed against the
heretics.
The French authorities seem to have proceeded with less severity
for a time. The Albigensian wars, however, also reacted on the
policy towards the Waldenses, and in 1214 seven of these suffered
the death penalty at Maurillac. But it was only toward the middle
of the thirteenth century that the heresy lost ground in Provence
and Languedoc. It did not disappear in these provinces until it
was merged in the Protestant Reformation movement, while Spain and
Lorraine were freed from it in the course of the thirteenth
century. The most conspicuous centre of Waldensian activity in
France during the later middle ages was Dauphine and the western
slope of the Cottian Alps. The sect seems to have been introduced
in to this territory from Lombardy. From Dauphine and the valleys
of the Alps it carried on missionary work in all Southern France
to the Atlantic seaboard. In 1403 a determined effort was made to
win back the Waldenses of the valleys of Louise, Argenti�re, and
Freissini�eres; but the apostolic labours of even a St. Vincent
Ferrer were powerless. The Inquisition was equally unsuccessful,
as were also the stern measures of the local civil authorities.
The policy of repression was temporarily abandoned under King
Louis XI, who, believing them to be orthodox, extended to the
Waldenses of the above-mentioned valleys his royal protection in
an ordinance of 1478.
This period of peace was followed in 1488 by a crusade summoned by
Innocent VIII against the Waldenses. The war did not succeed in
stamping them out. But, soon after, the Reformation profoundly
modified the sect's history and doctrinal development. A
deputation composed of G. Morel and P. Masson was sent in 1530 to
Switzerland for information concerning the new religious ideas. On
their return journey Masson was arrested at Dijon and executed;
Morel alone safely accomplished his mission. The report of this
journey led to the assembling of a general convention to which
Farel and other Swiss Reformers were invited. The meeting was held
at Chanforans in the valley of Angrogne and the Reformed teaching
substantially adopted (1532). A minority opposed this course and
vainly sought to stem the tied of radicalism by an appeal for
assistance to the Bohemian Brethren. A new convention held in the
valley of St. Martin in 1533 confirmed the decisions of
Chanforans. The open adoption of Protestantism soon led to the
persecution in which Waldensianism disappeared from Provence
(1545). The history of the communities in other districts became
henceforth identified with that of Protestantism in France.
The Waldenses in Italy and Other Countries
Italy became a more permanent home of Waldensianism and more
active in missionary work than France. During the very first years
of Waldes's preaching, converts to his views are mentioned in
Lombardy. They increased rapidly in number and were joined by some
members of the Order of Humiliati. But dissensions soon arose
between the Waldensians in France and in Lombardy. The latter
organized guilds of craftsmen, desired leaders of their own, and
refused admission among the perfect to married persons without the
consent of their consort. On Waldes's refusal to sanction these
points, his followers in Italy seceded during the first decade of
the thirteenth century. After his death a vain attempt at reunion
was made at Bergamo in 1218. The Italian branch after some time
not only prospered in the valleys of western Piedmont, but also
established important colonies in Calabria and Apulia. In the
fifteenth century communities hardly less important are mentioned
in the Papal States and other parts of Central Italy.
The appearance of the Waldenses in the Diocese of Strasburg is
recorded in 1211 and the years 1231-1233 were marked in Germany by
resolute efforts to stamp out their errors. But soon, adherents of
the sect were found in Bavaria, Austria, and other sections. They
spread in the north to the shores of the Baltic Sea, and in the
east to Bohemia, Poland and Hungary. With the appearance of new
heresies they at times partly lost their distinctive character. In
Bohemia they amalgamated with the Hussites and the Bohemian
Brethren without losing all their peculiarities.
Protestantism was still more readily accepted. Not only were its
teachings universally adopted, but numerous Waldensian communities
were merged in the Protestant churches, the Italian congregations
alone retaining an independent existence and the original name.
Those in the Piedmont valleys enjoyed religious peace from 1536-
1559, owing to the political dependence of the districts upon
France. A contrary policy was pursued by the Dukes of Savoy; but
the Waldenses at the very outset successfully resisted, and in
1561 were granted in certain districts the free exercise of their
religion. In 1655 violence was again fruitlessly resorted to.
Later in the same century (1686, 1699) some of them, under stress
of renewed persecution, emigrated to Switzerland and Germany. In
Piedmont, civil equality was granted them in 1799 when the French
occupied the country. They enjoyed this peace until the downfall
of Napoleon I, but again lost it at the return of the house of
Savoy. From 1816 onward, however, gradual concessions were made to
the Waldenses, and in 1848 Charles Albert granted them complete
and permanent liberty. Renewed activity has since marked their
history. They founded in 1855 a school of theology at Torre
Pellice and transferred it to Florence in 1860. Through emigration
they have spread to several cities of Southern France, and also to
North and South America. There are five congregations in Uruguay
and two in Argentina. Three colonies have settled in the United
States: at Wolfe Ridge, Texas; Valdese, North Carolina; and
Monett, Missouri. The communities which in the seventeenth century
settled in Germany have since severed their connection with the
church and abandoned their original language. In Hesse-Darmstadt
they were prohibited the use of French in 1820-21; in W�rtemberg
they joined the Lutheran State Church in 1823. Later on, they
began receiving financial support from the "American Waldensian
Aid Society" founded in 1906, and from a similar organization in
Great Britain.
N. A. WEBER
Transcribed by Anthony A. Killeen
Aeterna non caduca
http://www.knight.org/advent
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
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editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
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