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Peter Waldo
(1140-1205), credited as the founder of the
Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages, descendants
of which still exist in various regions of southern Europe. Citation
evidence by Eberhard de Béthune stated the name
Waldenses more than 10 years before Peter
Waldo, (1170) and the monk Bernard de Foncald
wrote about the heretics who were known as "Valdensis"
who were condemned during the pontificate of Pope Lucius II in 1144,
decades before Peter Waldo. These extant citation sources clearly prove
the existence of the actual name Valdenses
existed prior to Peter.
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Specific details of
his life are largely unknown. Extant sources relate that he was a wealthy
clothier and merchant from Lyons and a man of some learning. Sometime
shortly before the year 1160 he was inspired by a series of events,
firstly, after hearing a sermon on the life of St. Alexius, secondly,
rejection of transubstantiation when it was considered a capital crime to
do so, thirdly, the sudden and unexpected death of a friend during an
evening meal.[1][2][3] From this point onward he began living a radical
Christian life giving his property over to his wife, while the remainder of
his belongings he distributed as alms to the poor.
At about this time,
Waldo began to preach and teach publicly, based on his ideas of simplicity
and poverty, notably that "No man can serve two masters, God and
Mammon" accompanied by strong condemnations of Papal excesses and
Catholic dogmas, including purgatory and transubstantiation, while accusing
them of being the harlot from the book of Revelation.[4] By 1170 he had
gathered a large number of followers who were referred to as the Poor of
Lyons, the Poor of Lombardy, or the Poor of God who would spread their
teaching abroad while disguised as peddlers.[5] Often referred to as the
Waldensians (or Waldenses), they were distinct
from the Albigensians or Cathari.
The Waldensian
movement was characterized from the beginning by lay preaching, voluntary
poverty and strict adherence to the Bible. Between
1175-1185 Peter Waldo either commissioned a cleric from Lyons to
translate the New Testament into the vernacular, the Arpitan
(Franco-Provençal) language or was himself involved in this translation
work. Regardless of the source of translation, he is credited with
providing to Europe the first translation of the Bible in a 'modern tongue'
outside of Latin.[6]
In 1179, Waldo and
one of his disciples went to Rome where they were welcomed by Pope
Alexander III, and the Roman Curia. They had to explain their faith before
a panel of three clergymen, including issues which were then debated within
the Church, as the universal priesthood, the gospel in the vulgar tongue,
and the issue of voluntary poverty. The results of the meeting were
inconclusive, and Waldo's ideas, but not the movement itself, were
condemned at the Third Lateran Council in the same year, though the leaders
of the movement had not been yet excommunicated.
Driven away from
Lyons, Waldo and his followers settled in the high valleys of Piedmont, and
in France, in the Luberon, as they continued in
their pursuit of Christianity based on the New Testament. Finally, Waldo
was excommunicated by Pope Lucius III during the synod held at Verona in
1184, and the doctrine of the Poor of Lyons was again condemned by the
Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 where they are mentioned by name for the
first time, and regarded as heresy. Fearing suppression from the Church,
Waldo's followers fled to the mountainous regions of northern Italy.[7] The Roman Catholic Church began to persecute the
Waldensians, and 80 were tried and sentenced to death in France. Following
this, the Waldensians became critical of Catholic belief and would
eventually merge with various forming protestant churches in the late 16th
century.[8] Centuries after Waldo's death, this
Christian movement connected with the Genevan or Reformed branch of the
Protestant Reformation.
Extract from en.wikipedia.org - Read more
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