Church of Vaud

The Église of Vaud is resulting from the preaching of Pierre Valdo, at the 12th century, starting from Lyon. Persecuted, him and its disciples take refuge in the alpine valleys, and perpetuate there their faith until XVIe century. At that time, the majority of them follow the Protestant Réforme, which involves a new persecution.

Origin

The true name of the Églises of Vaud , that which they give each other they-even in Piedmont, is the Table Of Vaud . They appeared with the disciples of Pierre Valdo, or Valdès, in the years 1170 in the parish Saint-Nizier with Lyon. The first name of this last is dubious: a document attests only the initial one. Some translated it by Petrus , i.e. Pierre. Today, there exists a street bearing its name in the 5th district (street Pierre-Valdo) of Lyon.

Pierre Valdès was a commercial rich person of the city. In 1173, it listened to a passage of the life of Alexis saint told by a troubadour. This account made him test the desire of living closer to Christ, to follow naked Christ naked . It sold its goods to follow the apostolic ideal of poverty, i.e. to imitate the life of the apostles. It placed his daughters at the Abbaye of Fontevraud founded by Robert d' Arbrissel. According to the tradition of Vaud, it would have been translated selected passages of the Bible of the Latin into vulgar language, and would have learned them by heart.

It started to preach in the streets of Lyon, act who was then prohibited by the Catholic church. Only the priest S and the Clerk S, indeed, were authorized to do it. The Church initially tolerated the presence of Valdès and its disciples provided that they do not preach any more. But, having faced this interdict, the latter were driven out of Lyon by the archbishop. They consequently constituted the first Vaudois, which named themselves “Pauvres of Lyon”.

Like the Protestants, the of Vaud ones pushed back the real presence of Jesus-Christ in Eucharistie.

Diffusion

History

After being driven out of Lyon, Valdès and its disciples lived as farm laborers, making alms and wandering of village in village. The “movement” of Vaud made followers quickly, in particular in Provence, where they were established in a community named today Vaudois of Luberon, in Italy of North then, later during the Moyen-âge, in Bohemia.

It seems that the first of Vaud ones never really wanted to break with the Church, even if Rome showed them heresy by their nonrespect of the ecclesiastical instructions. The of Vaud ones considered that they always formed part of the Catholic church but that they were the " leave begnina" , and Rome the " leave maligna" corroded by fished. In 1184, the Council of Vérone, excommunicated the Poor of Lyon.

Pierre Valdès itself rejected the Catharisme (the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) date of this time). He would have died about 1206 whereas him and its movement was close to a reconciliation with the Church. The pope Innocent III was been willing to dialog. It would seem that the branch lombarde movement, the Lombards Poor after a short rehabilitation between 1208 and 1210 (one granted the right to them to preach but with a restricted audience) was excluded and anathématisée.

The of Vaud ones are definitively declared heretics by the Concile of Lateran IV in 1215. At the 13th century a group of of Vaud Italian joined even the Catholic church. The ideal of Vaud of poverty inspired in Italy North good number of declared radical movements heretics: at the end of XIIIe century the Apostolic ones of Gherardo Segarelli; in XIVe century spiritual radicals about the minor Brothers fraticelle S and the Dolcinien S (described by Umberto Eco in the Name of the pink ).

About the same time the order of the minor Brothers appeared, founded in 1209 per saint François d' Assise, wire of a commercial rich person of this town of central Italy, by reaction against the growing power of the money in the ecclesiastical and laic company. At the origin, Franciscains were not to have goods; they lived of their work or alms and preached in the cities. Contrary to Of Vaud, they had obtained the authorization to preach since François and his disciplines showed always respectful instructions of the clergy. What shows that the rejection of Of Vaud by the Church did not come at the origin from the ideal from poverty but well because of preaching universal priesthood (right to preach for all including the women). Persecuted in Italy of North, the Of Vaud ones were thorough towards the alpine valleys of Italy: of Suse to the Ligurie. They were sédentarisèrent there, resistant to the Inquisition by a discrete practice of their faith.

Gabriel Audisio estimates that the movement of Vaud ended in 1532 when with the synod of Chanforan, part of Of Vaud chooses to adhere to the Reform. They decided to translate the Bible into French, chose a cousin of Calvin, Olivetan, as translator, and collected the required funds with this work.

In 1686, under the pressure of king de France Louis XIV, the duke of Savoy persecuted Of Vaud alpine valleys which took refuge firstly in Geneva from where they were divided into Switzerland, in the possessions of Bern, and in Germany the duke of Savoy Victor Amédée II granted then an edict to them of tolerance and the Of Vaud ones were authorized in 1689 to make them " glorious rentrée". In 1848, king Charles Albert granted on his subjects not-catholics (Jewish and Protestant) a letter patent by which it gave them the permission to follow higher learning and to practice liberal professions (doctor, lawyer, etc.) This letter patent opened also the ghettos in which the Of Vaud ones had been locked up and it is starting from this date that the Of Vaud ones could propagate their faith and their belief in all Italy. Today the Of Vaud ones celebrate this dated February 17th, 1848 by bonfires, processions and worships solemn. This date is also called " Celebrates libertés"

Currently

the Table Of Vaud joins together local Churches of Vaud and methodists. It is chaired by the Pasteur Maria Bonafede (51 years, graduate in philosophy and theology, married to another Pasteur and mother of a 17 year old son), first woman with the head of the Churches of Vaud (but not with the head of a European Protestant Church as AFP affirmed it, because the company of the pastors of Geneva was chaired by a moderating a few years ago). Its title is moderating Table Of Vaud . The women can be pastors there since 1961.

In a maintenance with Stampa, Maria Bonafede declared desirable that the new pope Benoît XVI " can dialog with the other Churches chrétiennes" and " give up the concept of primacy of the Catholic church on the autres" . She also decided against the presence of Crucifix in the public places. Lastly, she declared that " the Christian faith is incompatible with the economic injustice, as it was incompatible with the Nazisme and the Apartheid ".

The Table of Vaud counts approximately 30.000 faithful in France in some Alpines valleys and in the north of the Italy, primarily in the Piedmont, one finds for example in Palazzo Cavagnis in Venice Foresteria Valdese, house of hosts of the associated Churches of Vaud and methodist. The table of Vaud also counts some communities in Latin America.

Practices

With the difference of the Catholic S, the of Vaud ones did not count priests in their rows: only “barbs”, kinds of pastors who, after one short period of training of the older texts and visits near barbs confessed and chaired ceremonies. The Of Vaud ones of Bohemia were persecuted hard by the Enquiry: a part of them joined the Hussite S.

At the time of the Reform, the of Vaud ones sent two as of theirs in Suisse to know the opinion of reformers like Guillaume Oecalampade and Guillaume Farel.

Doctrines

In the beginning, there was only the will to return to evangelic poverty. Thereafter, the doctrines of Of Vaud were specified at the time of conferences (Laus - 1526, Chanforan -1532); the base being the knowledge of the Gospel, Old and New Testament.

The principal aspects are:

the Writing is the only rule of the faith and the hearts.

Any man and any woman initiated with the knowledge of the writing can preach.

It is good that the worship is made in popular language and that each one uses of the Bible.

the faith is a gift of God. It includes/understands the love of the Lord and obedience with his commands.

the mass of the Roman worship is not worth anything.

indulgences are not worth anything. The purgatory is a fable.

All that one does for the safety of deaths is useless.

Jesus is the only intercessor. We must imitate the saints, not to adore them. Their worship is idolatry.

the Romain clergy having perverted the doctrines and the sacraments of the apostles, and not imitating their example, does not have any authority.

the baptism is only one sign of regeneration. This one will take place really only when the child has a true faith. The only recognized sacraments are the baptism and holy Cène.

the marriage is dissolved by adultery.

The doctrines of Of Vaud are summarized in a poem of XIVe century: Nobla Leyczon (the noble lesson).

See too

Pierre Valdo

Bibliography on the subject

the epopee of the Of Vaud , Maurice Pezet, Seghers editor
the Of Vaud ones with the Middle Ages , 1976, Bernard Gonnet
the Of Vaud ones, the astonishing adventure of a people-church , 1999, Giorgio Tourn, editor Claudiana
Of Vaud Languedociens and the poor catholic , Books of Fanjeaux n°2, Privat editor, 1967
the advance of of Vaud towards the schism and the heresy , Giovanni Gonnet, Books of medieval civilization n° 19,1976

External bonds

movements former to the Reform by Georg Plasger
Site of the foresteria valdese of Venice
Site of the Church of Vaud Italian
History of the Church Of Vaud, since its origin and of Of Vaud of Piedmont until our days by Antoine Monastier. Volume 1. 1847. Work on line.
History of the Church Of Vaud, since its origin and of Of Vaud of Piedmont until our days by Antoine Monastier. Volume 2. 1847. Work on line.
History off the Waldenses, J.A. Wylie (1808-1890)

Sources of the article

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