TABLE OF
CONTENTS

WHY WALDENSIAN?

IMPORTANT
INFORMATION

The following information is taken from the Italian web site, "Chiesa Evangelica Valdese" which you may find on our Links page.

Why are these churches called Waldensian as well as protestant?

Peter Valdo (hence Valdese = Waldensian), a merchant of Lyons who lived only a short time before St. Francis, following a deep spiritual crisis, decided to live the experience of the apostles as a follower of Christ. Accordingly, he sold all his possessions and dedicated himself to the preaching of the Gospel. It was not his intention to defy the Church when he made this decision but rather, following the example of the apostles, he wanted to help bring about its renewal; instead, he and his adherents were excommunicated.

The Waldensian movement, also known as "the poor of Lyons" in France and "the poor Lombardi" in Italy, continued to spread through Europe, meeting with favor among the people.

Like all so-called "heretical" movements, it was soon repressed and persecuted by the civil and religious authorities. Despite the difficulties and the pursuit of the Inquisition, the movement maintained its unity and spread throughout mediaeval Europe. The Waldenses established their communities mainly in the areas of the Cottian Alps, Provence, Calabria and southern Germany. Their itinerant preachers were called "barba" (a dialect word for "uncle", meaning a distinguished person), from which word derived "barbetti",a popular name used until recent times in Piemonte.

The cohesive testimony of the movement, which was given steadfastly from the 12th to the 16th centuries, was centered around two aspects of the Christian message: faithfulness to the Gospel and the poverty of the Church. The Church bears the name of Christ, the Waldenses said, therefore it must keep to the letter his teachings, renouncing all political power, the use of force and all alliance with the authorities of this world.

The Waldenses adhered to the newly dawned Reformation in Europe in 1532, organizing alternative communities to that of Rome; local preachers led their worship and celebrated the sacraments.

The protestant witness reached many other cities in Piemonte and Italy in that period and Catholicism maintained its supremacy only thanks to the action of the Counter-Reformation and the support of the princes.
Due to a number of favorable circumstances the Waldenses were able to obtain the recognition of their faith in a precise area of the Cottian Alps. This group of just a few thousand protestants formed an outpost of European Protestantism for almost three centuries.

The sovereigns of France and Piemonte, however, did not abandon their project to win them back to the Catholic faith. The tragic moments of 1655, when the massacre known as the "Piedmont Easter" took place, raised the indignant protest of Europe and the action of the England of Cromwell. Another dramatic event took place in 1685, when Louis XIV of France forbade the protestants to profess their religion and the Waldensian churches of Piemonte were also destroyed. Only a few survivors, escaping from severe persecution, found refuge in Switzerland, returning after three years in a memorable trek known as the "Glorious Return".

For the whole of the 18th century the Waldenses were confined to their territory in the Waldensian Valleys, more or less as the Jews were to their ghetto, objects of a discriminating legislation which treated them as second class citizens.

They had to await 17th February 1848 for the Declaration of Carlo Alberto to grant them political and civil rights.
The Edict of Emancipation, issued by Carlo Alberto on 17th February 1848 (Waldenses still celebrate this date each year), recognized the political and civil rights of the Waldenses. The Catholic religion, however, still remained the official religion of the State and, consequently, the present-day principles of division between State and Church and of religious freedom were not yet put into practice; neither the Catholic Church nor the Italian society were ready to assent to the requests of a modern world.
The Waldenses actively committed themselves to defend these principles, from the Risorgimento (the movement for national unity after 1848) to the Resistance, convinced of their importance for the political and social renewal of the country.

With the year 1848 and the beginning of the Risorgimento, the Waldenses were no longer the only protestants in Italy. Groups of political exiles in Piemonte and others, returning from Europe, brought into being a Free Italian Church; others accepted the preaching of missionaries coming from the Anglo-Saxon world, representatives of the Methodist and Baptist churches.

To express their commitment in the social life of the nation, both Waldenses and other protestants used the term "evangelization". When they spoke of "evangelizing" Italy, it was not with the intention of founding a new religion but, like Valdo, of making the message of the Gospel clear and up-to-date: propagate the Bible, stimulate theological reflection, in view of a renewal of the Christian faith. This work of witness was carried out by preaching, with the opening of churches and conference halls, but it was also expressed in social commitments and with a particular emphasis in the field of education. A widespread network of primary schools was organized and it can be safely said that every protestant community had its own school; the school-master, together with the Bible salesman, were the typical characters of Italian evangelization. Besides the schools, the dormitories for students, the orphanages, the trade schools, likewise the commitments in the fields of health-care and service, with the setting up of hospitals and homes for the elderly, were considerable.