Did you ever hear of the Waldensians?  Probably not.  They were

originally known as the Valdese--the dwellers in the valley. 

They were also called the Cathars--which meant holy ones. The

word Valdese changed through the centuries, and was pronounced

Waldenses, and Waldensians.  They lived in the Piedmont

mountain valleys of northern Italy and Southern France.  They

were simple people.  They were hardworking, faithful people.

There was a Christian leader named Peter Waldo, who ministered

to the Waldensians in the 1100's.  Because of the similarity of

name, he was thought by some to be the founder ofa the

Waldensians.  But the Waldensians existed many centuries

before Peter Waldo joined them.  They were the very first true

Christian denomination, and trace their beginning to the 

very first century, to the very first generation of Christians.

LUX    LUCET    IN   TENEBRIS

LIGHT    SHINES     IN   DARKNESS

"THE LIGHT SHINES IN DARKNESS" was the motto of tahe

Waldensians---they lived up to that motto through all the dark

days----YEARS---GENERATIONS!!!---of persecution!!!

From the very first century, the Valdese, the "dwellers in the

valley" heard the truth of the Gospel.  They had the entire New

Testment.  All of the Books that have always been the

recognized canon of the Christian Church.  They lived by its

teachings.

The Waldensian ministers were called "barbas".  The word meant

something like "uncle".  These Barbas, and other Waldensian

missionaries, spread the light of the Gospel throughout their

portion of Europe in those early centuries.  They did not build

fancy buildings.  They did not own lots of land, or have

political power.  All they had was the simple word of the

Gospel.  Jesus Saves.

From the fifth century, they refused to recognize the church at

Rome as a genuine faithful Christian church.  The bishops and

popes had set themselves up with political power, lived in the

lap of wealth and luxury, and claimed that they were the final

authority on all things Christian, and insisted that all

Christians everywhere were under their jurisdiction.  At the

same time, they had taken all the rituals and ceremonies and

liturgies of the ancient pagan Roman religions, called them

Christian liturgy, and insisted that these ceremonies were the

heart and reality of the Christian religion.

They went so far as to deny the work that Jesus had done on the

Cross.

They denied the saving power of the Word of God.  They denied

that Jesus' Blood cleanses us from all sin.  They took the

existing pagan system of confessions, penances, and purgatory,

which the Romans had done in worship of the pagan god called

Mithra,the bull slayer, and called this system the Christian

way.  They declared the death of Jesus on the cross to be not

good enough.  They told people they had to suffer for their own

sinthe Reformer embraced a people who had known and believedd the

true gospel from the very beginning. 

You have been told that the Roman Church was the first and only

Christian church.

That is not true.  The Waldensians heard the pure gospel in the

first century.

They had the Bible from the first century and fefused to depart

from its holy teachings of Christ's Redemption.

The Roman Church was begun by Emperor Constantine in 312 AD. 

He set it up along the existing politcal scructure.  The office

of Pontifex Maximus, "hight pries", had always been held by the

leader of the religion of Mithra.  Constantine filled athe now

vacant office with a bishop who didn't mind living in luxury

and power next to the emperor.  that's where the papacy came

from.  Jesus Christ had nothing to do with it.

In the following years, the Roman church compromised more and

more, until it no longer believed in the Redeeming power of the

death and resurrection of Christ.  Jesus was the resurrected

Son of God,  but according to the Roman church hierarchy, you

had to go to someone else to get your sins forgiven.

The Waldensians refused to obey any one but Christ.   They

recognized no authority but the Bible.  They went to Jesus

Christ Himself for the forgiveness of their sins.

The hierarchy at Rome could not tolerate defiance against its

pretended authority.  Atheir hatred and jealousy against the

Waldensians led to the wars and persecutions against the

Waldensians that lasted over a thousand years.

This article is indebted to the work of "THE YOUNG REFORMER" 

Published by THE PROTESTANT ALLIANCE< Edited by Dr. Stephen J.

Scott-Person, Alliance Publications, 77 Ampthill Road,

filtwick, Bedford, MK45IBD s after death, in this pagan, non-existant place called

purgatory.

Yet they still claimed that they had absolute power over

everything that called itself Christian.

Revelation 2:6--Jesus said---But this you have---you hate the

deeds of the Nicolaitans----which I also hate.

Nicolaitans is a compound word that means "conquerors of the

laity"---"overcomers of the people"---the POWERGRABBERS!

How were these bishops and popes "powergrabbers"?

They declared that "You can't come to Christ without us and our

ceremonies!  You must belong to us and be subject to us!"

But the Waldensians had the Bible.  The Word of God.  They had

it in their own language from the very first century, when the

Holy Spirit gave it to the apostles who wrote it down.  They

studied it and lived by it.

Every generation of the Waldensians was faithful to what their

parents had read to them from the Word of God.

They hated the deeds of the Powergrabbers, which Jesus had

declared in the Book of Revelation that He also hated.

Is it really possible for Jesus to look at something going on

in His church, among the people He died for, and declare that

He hates it?

Yes it is.  Read Revelation, chapters 1,2,3.

In the year 1229 A.D., the Roman church had become apostate. 

An apostate is someone who used to be a Christian but is not,

any more.  The hierarchy had forsaken its faith, but did not

want to fosake its political power.

They held a meeting called athe Council of Valencia.  They

declared that the Bible was a forbideen book.  No one but

members of the clergy could own or read or translate the Bible! 

The 119th Psalm declares that the entrance of God's Word brings

Light.  These apostate church leaders were not interested in

God's Light.

They declared that they themselves were in charge, and that no

one but they themselves were allowed to read the Bible.

But the Waldensians had the entire New Testament in their own

language from the first century.  The entrance of God's Word

gave light to their souls.

Psalm 119:11.  Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might

not sin against Thee."

The missionary Barbas, (the word used for the Waldensian

ministers), ran great risks as they traveled the continent of

Europe as peddlers.  As they traveled from place to place,

they preached Jesus to anyone who would listen .  When they

were caught, and found to have a portion of the Holy Bible in

their possession, they were sent to prison or death.

So they took to memorizing large portions of the Bible, so they

would not need the 'incriminating" paper.  They travelled as

peddlars, and they preached the word of God and the salvation

fo Jesus Christ wherever they went.

Even the ordinary men, women, and children of the Waldensians,

who never left home to go on these missionary journeys, were in

constant danger.  The official church in Rome could not

tolerate any rebellion against its own claim of absolute

authority over everything that called itself Christian.

Many times over the years, great armies would overrun the

valleys of Piedmont, in the attempt to destroy the Waldensians

and their faith in the Bible as the only authority regarding

the teachings of Jesus.

The efforts of the succeeding popes to destroy the Protestant

faith of the Waldensians in the Piedmont valleys were highly

organized military campaigns.

One of these camaigns took place in 1486.  Pope Innocent V111

called upon Charles 1, the Duke of Savoy, to assemble an army

to destroy the "heretics" who dared to believe that Christ was

the Head of His own Church, and there was no other.

Other foundation can no man lay, but Jesus Christ, the chief

cornerstone.

Who is a rock save our God?

An army of over 18,000 men, looking forward to victory and

plunder, marched into the valleys to wage war against the

saints of God.

The large and fierce army marched into the valleys.  The

general in charge decided to split his force and storm all of

the mountain villages at the same time.  It was the battle of

David and Goliath.

Goliath was Rome, armed with swords and spears, versus David,

the poor humble Waldensians who fought with bows and arrows.

Isaiah 54:17  The Lord told His people, "NO WEAPON FORMED

AGAINST THEE SHALL PROSPER."

The invasion broke up in disarray.  One of the leaders of the

soldiers of the invading army was called "Nero of Mondovi".

He and his men managed to get to the top of a ridge.  When the

Waldensians assembled there saw him, they fell on their knees

in prayer.

Nero of Mondovi mocked then.  He thought they were already

conquered.  He lifted the visor on his helmet, in order to

laugh at them with greater ease, and shouted  "you shall be

saved with a vengeance.!"

At that moment a Waldensian arrow, fired by an anonymous

"David, pierced his forehead, killing this "Goliath."

His army fled in disorganized retreat, getting lost in the

unfamiliar terrain, and falling to their deaths over the

slippery mountain slopes.

Charles 1, Duke of Savoy, withdrew his support from the

expedition.  The pope's representative, called the Papal

Legate, was sent away having been told the mission was

complete.

Then a representative of the House of Savoy met with the

Waldensian Barbas, to assure them that the war against them was

over.  During this meeting, he met some Waldensian children. 

He exclaimed in surprise, "Is it possible that these are the

children of heretics?"  His surprise was due to the fact that

he had been told that the Waldensian "heretics" were monsters

born with black throats and a horn in their forehead.  It was

attitudes like that, that earned that time of history the mame

"Dark Ages."

When there was not an actual war being waged against them, the

Waldensians were still under threat of the Inquisition.  To

explain it in modern terms, the Holy Office of the Inquisition

was the Religious Police.  These church officers invaded every

family, every home, to make sure that the religious laws were

being obeyed. Waldensian parents taught their children the

Bible.  The religious police would arrest the parents, and take

the children away from them amd put them in monasteries and

nunneries, where they would be taught the ancient pagan

ceremonies that  were now called Christian liturgy, and would

be denied the Light of God's Word.

The history of the Waldensians is a history of non-stop

persecution, non-stop arrest, torture, imprisonment, beatings,

hangings, and burnings.  It began in the fifth century, and

continued through all generations to the 1700's.  But each

generation of Waldensians held faithful to the teachings of the

New Testament.  Jesus Christ is the Head of His church.  There

is no human being that can claim to be the head of Christ's

church.  Sins are washed from our souls by the power of the

blood shed by Jesus on the cross.  The Word of God, given by

the Spirit of God, is the authority in all things.  Jesus

forgives our sins when we repent of them and ask Him to forgive

us.  The true Christian must be obedient to Christ alone, not

the pope.

In the 16th century, great event shook the entire continent of

Europe.  The Reformation.

The true, Bible believing Christians, had always existed, from

the very first century.  The largest enduring group, over the

centuries, was the Waldensians.

But the Reformation started something new.  the German nobles

tok the side of Martin Luther against the pope, and it began a

political revolution as will as a religious one.

Starting with Germany, and moving to England and the

Netherlands, this new idea took hold.  People began to think,

"We should be free people, free to serve Jesus Christ in

obedience to the true Gospel."

Almost all of the Reformers had been members of the Roman

clergy.  They began to read the Bible, and learn what the

gospel message really is, and rebel against the religious

tyranny that had ruled the world for so many centuries.  The

political setup of the world was shaken.  The entire history of

the world was shaken. clergy.  They began to read the Bible, and learn what the

gospel message really is, and rebel against the religious

tyranny that had ruled the world for so many centuries.  The

political setup of the world was shaken.  The entire history of

the world was shaken.

News of these event reached to remote Waldensian homes in the

Piedmont mountains.  The brbas sent Barba Martin of the town of

Lucerna to investigate.   He returned form his journey with agood

report. The gospel was being preached in Germany, in

Switzerland, and France.  the Same Gospel the Waldensians had

believed and held true to since the first century.

A city in Switzerland, named Geneva, seemed to be the center of

activity for this movement, and two Barbas were sent to Geneva

to mee and treet the Reformers there.

The meeting was looked upon as a miracle by both sides.  to

The Reformers, here was a church that had been preserved in the

pure gospel from the first Christian century.  The Waldensians

met Christians who were just  now coming out of centuries of

religious darkness, and were re-discovering the Bible that had

been their own strength and constant Light for centuries. 

LUX   LUCET  IN  TENEBRIS

The Waldensians and the Reformers greeted each other with great

joy.

These two Barbas were arrested on their way home.  One of them

was burned alive in the town of Dijon.  The everyday punishment

in those days.  The judgment of the Roman church upon all who

refused to recognize or obey the pope.

In 1532, September 12, two years later, there was a historic

meeting in the small town of Chanforan in  the Angrogna Valley. 

This came to be known as the Synod of Chanforan.

The Waldensians embraced the brothers and sisters in Christ who

were just coming out of the religious darkness that had ruled

for centuries. 

The Reformers  embraced a people who had known and believedd the

true gospel from the very beginning. 

You have been told that the Roman Church was the first and only

Christian church.

That is not true.  The Waldensians heard the pure gospel in the

first century.

They had the Bible from the first century and fefused to depart

from its holy teachings of Christ's Redemption.

The Roman Church was begun by Emperor Constantine in 312 AD. 

He set it up along the existing political structure.  The office

of Pontifex Maximus, "high priest", had always been held by the

leader of the religion of Mithra.  Constantine filled the now

vacant office with a bishop who didn't mind living in luxury

and power next to the emperor.  that's where the papacy came

from.  Jesus Christ had nothing to do with it.

In the following years, the Roman church compromised more and

more, until it no longer believed in the Redeeming power of the

death and resurrection of Christ.  Jesus was the resurrected

Son of God,  but according to the Roman church hierarchy, you

had to go to someone else to get your sins forgiven.

The Waldensians refused to obey any one but Christ.   They

recognized no authority but the Bible.  They went to the Reformer embraced a people who had known and believed the

true gospel from the very beginning. 

You have been told that the Roman Church was the first and only

Christian church.

That is not true.  The Waldensians heard the pure gospel in the

first century.

They had the Bible from the first century and fefused to depart

from its holy teachings of Christ's Redemption.

The Roman Church was begun by Emperor Constantine in 312 AD. 

He set it up along the existing politcal scructure.  The office

of Pontifex Maximus, "hight pries", had always been held by the

leader of the religion of Mithra.  Constantine filled athe now

vacant office with a bishop who didn't mind living in luxury

and power next to the emperor.  that's where the papacy came

from.  Jesus Christ had nothing to do with it.

In the following years, the Roman church compromised more and

more, until it no longer believed in the Redeeming power of the

death and resurrection of Christ.  Jesus was the resurrected

Son of God,  but  according to the Roman church hierarchy, you

had to go to someone else to get your sins forgiven.

The Waldensians refused to obey any one but Christ.   They

recognized no authority but the Bible.  They went to Jesus

Christ Himself for the forgiveness of their sins.

The hierarchy at Rome could not tolerate defiance against its

pretended authority.  Their hatred and jealousy against the

Waldensians led to the wars and persecutions against the

Waldensians that lasted over a thousand years.

This article is indebted to the work of "THE YOUNG REFORMER" 

Published by THE PROTESTANT ALLIANCE< Edited by Dr. Stephen J.

Scott-Person, Alliance Publications, 77 Ampthill Road,

Filtwick, Bedford, MK45IBD