Early Waldensians Flashcards
Who founded the Waldensians?
Valdes, a wealthy merchant from Lyon
When did Valdes convert to a life of poverty?
In 1173, a year of famine
What event inspired Valdes to convert?
Hearing the story of St. Alexius
What is the story of St. Alexius?
St. Alexius was a wealthy Roman nobleman who left his family and possessions to live a life of poverty and service to the poor, eventually returning to his family home as a beggar and remaining unrecognized until his death
Who did Valdes commission to translate the Gospels?
Stephen de Ansa
Which theologians’ sentences were also translated?
Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great
When was the small community of Waldensians formed?
In 1177
originallyby valdes in 1173
What did the Third Lateran Council of 1179 decide about the Waldensians?
They could preach, but only about their apostolic way of life, and needed permission from a local priest
Who called the Waldensians “idiotae et illiterati”?
Water Map, a papal authority
What happened at the diocesan synod at Lyon in 1180?
It was an opportunity for Valdes to demonstrate his orthodoxy. He did this by making a formal profession of his belief in the Trinity, resurrection, sacraments, and incarnation.
Why were the Waldensians expelled from Lyon in 1182?
Archbishop Guichard’s death meant a loss of protection for Valdes and his followers as Guichard’s successor – Jean de Bellesmain – was a secular priest as opposed to a member of a religious order, and therefore much more conservative-minded. Bellesmain refused to give Valdes permission to preach, and Valdes faced a difficult decision – but continued to preach.
What quote did Valdes use to justify continuing to preach after being denied permission?
“We must obey God rather than human authority”
What did Pope Lucius III’s Ad Abolendam decretal do in 1184?
Grouped Waldensians and Humiliati with Cathars and Patarenes, formally anathematized them, and identified them as a threat
What does the Ad Abolendam represent for the Church’s response to heresy?
A turning point: ecclesiastical authorities would now actively look for heresy instead of dealing with accusations individually
Ad abolendam (lit. ’On abolition / Towards abolishing’; full title in Latin: Ad abolendam diversam haeresium pravitatem, lit. ’To abolish diverse malignant heresies’) was a decretal and bull of Pope Lucius III, written at Verona and issued 4 November 1184.[1] It was issued after the Council of Verona settled some jurisdictional differences between the Papacy and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. The document prescribes measures to uproot heresy and sparked the efforts which culminated in the Albigensian Crusade and the Inquisitions. Its chief aim was the complete abolition of Christian heresy.
What actions did Valdes take to spread his message?
He recruited followers, trained them as preachers, and sent them out in pairs to spread the word
