aka, the Poor of Lyons.
This was the paper I wrote over a month ago for Dr. S's class. It was particularly interesting to me because most of us learn that there were no Protestants before Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door. Despite proof that such "heretics" did exist, scholars still argue that Protestants did not, in fact, exist prior to that time. Perhaps, as noted before, it's just a definition thing, which is a silly reason to argue that the Waldensians were not Protestants. But whatever. Consider them proto-Protestants, if you must.
(I have omitted bibiographic references and notes. The footnotes I found interesting have been included in parentheses within the text.)
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This paper discusses the heresy known as "Waldensianism" which emerged in the late twelfth century and lasted until the Reformation, and will cover the movement's origin, its evolution as a result of persecution, and the main heresies for which the Waldensians were condemned by the Church in Rome. First, a brief discussion of nomenclature is in order.
"Waldensian," "Waldenses," "Valdensian," and "Valdenses" were the Church's names for the sect, labeling them by the name of their founder. These names were invariably meant disparagingly. Members of the movement referred to themselves as "Poor of Lyons," "Poor of God," "Poor of Christ," or just "Brothers." Sources also disagree on the surname of the founder, who was called "Waldo," "Waldes," "Valdes," or "Vaudes." In the interest of consistency, as well as respect for the ideas of the movement, I will refer to them as "the Poor of Lyons," "the Poor," or "Brothers," and their founder as "Valdes" throughout this paper.
The movement began around 1170 when the founder, a wealthy merchant from Lyons named Valdes, commissioned two clergymen in his hometown to translate the Vulgate into the vernacular for him, then decided to give up his money and assume a life of poverty. Scholars are not certain what prompted this drastic change. The most popular story to explain his change of heart was that he heard a minstrel sing the tale of Saint Alexis, a rich young man who had sold all he had to live among the poor. Valdes was so moved by this story that sold his belongings and took up the apostolic life. Romanticism aside, the most plausible explanation for why such a no-nonsense, literal-minded man would sell his belongings to live in poverty was in response to two sentences from the bible: Matthew 19.21 and 24. In the first, Jesus tells the rich young man "if you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor...then come, follow me." In the second, he says "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
Other origin stories surfaced later in the movement, most likely as attempts to establish the antiquity--and thus the authenticity--of the movement's doctrines. The Poor of Lyons claimed to have tracked their belief to the founding fathers of the Church. Members of the movement reinforced this origin myth among themselves. Some of the Poor of Lyons traced their origins to Pope Sylvester, who had accepted the Gift of Constantine in the fourth century which had established the church as a temporal power, supplanting the Church's real mission as the spiritual power. The Poor of Lyons claimed to be descendants of the original dissenters from the time of Constantine's Gift. As late as 1690, Pierre Allix attempted to prove the Poor of Lyons had ancient origins by arguing that the term "Waldenses" derived from the Latin term for valley (vallis), which meant the Waldensian homeland was the Piedmont valleys, and that Church propagandists had corrupted the term in order to make people believe Valdes was the founder.
The group defined themselves through poverty, calling themselves "the Poor of Christ" or "Poor of Lyons." Society was threatened by beggars, who by definition took alms and gave nothing in return, so Valdes began to preach. He easily found biblical instruction to do so (Matthew 28.19-20). The Inquisitor Bernard Gui wrote of the audacity of the Poor of Lyons who ignored the archbishop of Lyons' order to cease and desist from preaching, as they were "unlettered laymen." The Poor of Lyons argued that they were following the example of the apostles. (We are not told how the church dealt with the fact that most of the apostles had themselves been unlettered.) Thus, the initial distinct characteristics of the Poor of Lyons were poverty, preaching, and literal interpretation of the scriptures.
It is important to note that, from the beginning, the Poor of Lyons considered themselves devout Catholics. The Church did not initially condemn them because they preached against the Cathars, the main enemy of the Church at that time, and because the Poor of Lyons petitioned the Third Lateran Council for the right to preach, and were granted permission (orally), provided they first obtained the permission of the local priest. However, they alienated themselves from the Church because they were not educated preachers, and because they allowed female disciples to preach. When the Archbishop of Lyons Jean aux Belles-Mains forbade them to preach, Valdes refused to obey, citing Acts 5.29: "We ought to obey God rather than men." In 1184, Pope Lucius III excommunicated them for usurping the ministry of preaching without a mission, and the Poor of Lyons became schismatics. However, they continued to debate with Church bishops, and remained orthodox, continuing to honor the church hierarchy unless it stood between them and what they felt was their God-ordained mission. This anathema on the part of the church directly contributed to their expansion into more rural areas. Valdes maintained his orthodoxy until his death in 1205, insisting his excommunication was a mistake.
As the Poor of Lyons scattered into the countryside, they continued to look only to scripture for instruction and over time, new heresies emerged. For example, many Christians held the Catholic clergy in contempt, so the Poor of Lyons taught that Christians could confess to laymen. Also, to ensure those in Cathar territories did not neglect the sacraments, the Poor of Lyons formed their own communion practice based on the Last Supper, including fishes as part of the meal. The Church immediately pronounced layman-administered sacraments heretical.
With each new heresy question, the unity of the Poor was tested. Two competing sects met in Bergamo after Valdes' death to reconcile differences. They agreed that receiving the holy water at baptism was necessary for salvation and that a husband and wife could separate only in the event of infidelity or by mutual agreement. The agreements among the Poor were based on their firm belief that the authority of the holy scriptures must prevail over tradition. The two factions remained divided over the question of Valdes' salvation and under what conditions the Eucharist may be considered consecrated. One sect, the Ultramontanes, believed that Valdes had been saved and the words of the priest were effective regardless of the state of sin of the priest himself—-which corresponded to the Catholic position. The other sect, the Lombards, believed Valdes had been saved provided he confessed all his sins before death, and they held to the donatist position, stating only a worthy minister could consecrate the sacrament.
Due largely to their firm belief and adherence to a life of poverty, as well as their adherence to biblical teaching, the Brothers were better received than many priests, and support for the dissenters grew. Predictably, the Inquisition pinpointed them when they became a sizeable threat to the Church, and particularly when they openly denied the (money-making) doctrine of purgatory. The Poor of Lyons then went underground.
By the end of the fourteenth century, the Poor of Lyons' beliefs had evolved. They still believed in the necessity of preaching, but instead of asserting that all had been called as they had asserted in the beginning, they now believed only male leaders could preach. Also, persecution made public preaching ill-advised, so they chose to preach in private to other members of their movement. They still believed in the necessity of poverty, but only preachers were required to adhere to it absolutely. They still adhered to their strict belief that the bible was the ultimate source of reference, and that its message was to be understood literally (known as evangelism). Alan of Lille, champion of the Faith, called the Waldensians "philosophers without [reason] and prophets without vision." He voiced the Church's position when he stated that only scholars had the right to analyze and define doctrine.
In addition to the modifications to their original beliefs, the Poor of Lyons had adopted an uncompromising stand against falsehood (based on Matthew 5.37). They also refused to take an oath for any reason (based on Matthew 5.33-4). The Poor denied the existence of purgatory. (The Church was well aware that purgatory could not be found in the bible, which made this "heresy" a bit troublesome. In fact, when the Poor of Lyons emerged in 1170, their beliefs were consistent in this respect with Roman Catholicism itself. Rome declared denial of purgatory a heresy in 1255, and fixed the doctrine in the Second Council of Lyons in 1274.) They maintained that laymen could hear confessions, give penance and grant absolution. This likely evolved as a necessity of excommunication, as well as personal beliefs in the ineptitude of available clerics. The disagreement over donatism continued, split between French and Italian branches of the Poor. They were against the death penalty, a belief drawn from Matthew 5.21-2 and Matthew 26.52. They denied the presence of the host in the Eucharist. Generally speaking, they denied all rulings of the Church not taken directly from the scriptures. They ignored Rome's attempts to excommunicate them, denounced indulgences as worthless, and ignored official decrees and sanctions, including fasts and saints' days. The did not accept the idea of saints and did not pray to the saints, as they believed they themselves were the true "holders of the keys"--not the pope or his delegates. Also, they were pacifists, believing rejection of violence substantiated their claim to be the true church. As one of the Poor wrote of the ideal Christian people:
They are very peaceful, kindly and long-suffering; they will not defend themselves, they do not reply to evil with evil, but they suffer tribulation and great persecution, are tormented and slain and in great imprisonment; therefore they are full of fear and great terror; often they go from place to place in flight. And when they lose their property by which they should assure themselves, they have to weary themselves in working hard....Therefore they are happy, as has been written, and wish to accomplish what the Lord has said....But Jesus Christ said this: then be joyful, when men wish to kill you, torment you, and persecute you; your reward is great in the world to come.
By 1530, the moral positions of the Poor of Lyons had evolved again. In a document written by two ministers of the Poor, we know the strict doctrine against falsehood was not mentioned, which is odd if it was still one of the movement’s primary tenets. Communion, which had previously been celebrated once a year on Maundy Thursday with bread, wine and fish, was not mentioned. Further the two preachers questioned believed in transubstantiation. The prohibition against oaths seems to have been functionally dropped, as it automatically convicted a Brother on trial before the Inquisition, and made him stand out in everyday life. They continued to deny the existence of purgatory, but paid their priests to pray for recently deceased loved ones, and included provisions in wills for the Church to sing masses and say prayers for them after their deaths. They attended compulsory church services and performed all rites as necessary to avoid suspicion, maintaining their religious identity, in many cases, in theory only. After the first few decades of persecution, they appear to have chosen protection of their beliefs over dying for them.
Societal attitudes toward poverty had changed during the fourteenth century, as the number of poor multiplied--as a direct result of property confiscations during Inquisitions--and society was unable to support them all. They became a dual class, composed of the deserving and the undeserving poor. Poverty came to be seen as a reflection of the moral state of a human being, as evidence of moral degradation. In the fifteenth century, absolute poverty was all but abandoned by the Brethren. Instead, they opted for a more symbolic poverty, arranging more diminutive dowries than their Catholic counterparts and emphasizing the ongoing righteousness of giving alms to the needy.
The Passau Anonymous, written by an inquisitor, ironically gives the following advice for spotting heretics in a section devoted to the "Waldensians":
Heretics are to be recognized by their morals and their words. In moral behavior they are composed and modest. They take no pride in their clothing, which is neither too rich nor too abject. They do not undertake any business because they seek to avoid lying and oaths and fraud, but they often make a living by the work of their hands, as craftsmen; their learned men are weavers and textile workers. They do not increase their riches, but are satisfied with necessities. They go neither to taverns, nor to shows, nor to any such vanities. They avoid anger. They are always working, teaching, or learning, and therefore they pray little. They go to church deceptively, and they offer, and confess, and take communion, and are present at sermons--but they accept preaching verbally only.
They may also be recognized by their words, which are precise and modest. They avoid detraction, scurrility, and lightness of expression, as well as lying and taking oaths. They never say "truly," or "certainly," or the like, because they think that this would be an oath. They rarely respond directly to questions, so that if you ask them, "Do you know the Gospels and the Epistles?" they respond, "What might these things teach me?" Or they will say, "They ought to learn this, who are great or profound of intellect, or who are leisured and suitable," as if to say, "yes, yes, no, no. This is permitted to you to say, as Christ commanded.
The Poor of Lyons adopted, over time, many doctrines the Church considered heretical, noting various differences between literal scriptural translation and Church teaching slowly, over the course of time. They began as Catholics who thought of themselves as "called"--they impoverished themselves, created their own bible in the vernacular, and preached as laymen. Other than this, they were accepted as brothers in the faith and often admired by members of the Church. As they studied the scriptures, they began to question and discard certain practices of the Church, shedding each trapping of the organized faith as they thought to question it and reach their own conclusions regarding it. The Church aided this process by renouncing the heretics. Also, the Brothers' encounters and discussions with other heretics of various flavors provoked more questions, more studying, and more "heretical" beliefs. The movement survived the Inquisition by going underground, and by adjusting required adherence to beliefs that marked them as heretics in the eyes of the Church.
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