Waldenses

The Waldenses, also known as the Vaudois, are a Christian movement that began in the late 12th century in Lyon, France, under the influence of Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who renounced wealth to preach the gospel. They emphasized Scripture as the ultimate authority, the duty of all believers to study it, lay preaching, and voluntary poverty. Their worship and organization rested on local lay associations rather than a centralized clerical hierarchy.

Waldo’s followers, often called the Poor of Lyon, spread through the Alpine valleys of Piedmont and surrounding regions. They established communities in which lay elders led services, translated and circulated portions of the Bible in vernacular languages, and promoted simple, scripturally grounded worship. The movement operated outside the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and faced sustained opposition.

Throughout the Middle Ages and early modern period, the Waldenses were repeatedly persecuted as heretics by Catholic authorities. Despite persecution, they survived in the Piedmont valleys, preserving their identity and networks, and later attracted attention from Protestant reformers who valued their emphasis on Scripture and vernacular preaching.

In the 16th century some Waldenses allied with Protestant reform movements in neighboring regions, and in subsequent centuries they faced further campaigns by rulers in Savoy. With gradual toleration in the 19th century, their communities regained religious freedom and continued to develop as a distinct Protestant tradition.

Today, the Waldenses form the Evangelical Waldensian Church in Italy, a Reformed Protestant denomination. They are part of international ecumenical networks and retain a distinctive historical identity as one of the early dissenting Christian movements.