Waldenses
Other medieval heresies continue to challenge the church in a worldly sense, particularly the clergy’s monopoly of the Bible. In the twelfth century, most Bibles were in Latin which severely limited the numbers of people who could read and interpret Christian texts for themselves. This situation changed in 1177 when a wealthy Lyons merchant called Peter Waldo had a crisis of faith and conscience. Waldo was suddenly inspired to give away all his worldly goods to lead a poor, simpler life more along the lines of Christ’s example.
However, before he gave up all his money, Waldo paid for a translation of the Bible into his native Provencal. This vernacular bible allowed him to preach the word of god as a layman- and enable other people to read it for themselves. Quickly, a group of like-minded people began to follow Waldo’s example. Known as the Waldenses, they dedicated themselves to a life of Christ-like simplicity. They also observed their leader’s example and began to preach the word of God from a vernacular Bible.
After only a couple of years, Waldo and his movement had managed to attract the attention of Rome. In 1179, Waldo attended the Third Lateran Council in Rome in an attempt to get the pope Alexander III to recognize his right to preach and promote his beliefs. Alexander accepted Waldo’s vow of poverty and Waldo himself made the profession of Faith that acknowledged the Church’s supremacy in religious matters. However, the Pope did not sanction the Waldenses right to preach as Waldo had hoped. So, with Rome unwilling to accept a compromise, the Waldensians set themselves on the path to all-out heresy.
The Waldenses publically rejected the notion of purgatory, the veneration of the saints and all the sacraments of the church except for baptism and Holy Communion. Instead, they based their beliefs on the content of the bible and a non-violent life. Anyone was allowed to preach- even women. Having now wholly denied the necessity of any clergy what so ever, they were fair game for heretical persecution. In 1184, the archbishop of Lyon condemned Waldo and that same year Pope Lucius III’s Ad Abolendam declared the Waldenses heretics.
Never the less, the movement spread across Europe, infiltrating Spain, Belgium, Germany, and southern Italy and into Hungary and Poland. As with the Cathar’s the church began to actively hunt the Waldenses down, using the newly formed Inquisition as its tool. By the 14th century, they had successfully eliminated Waldenses influence from large areas of Europe- however, pockets of the sect remained around the French and Italian Alps. By the fifteenth century, the movement merged with swelling ranks of the Protestantism sweeping Europe, becoming a Swiss version of the Protestant church, which survived into the nineteenth century and crossed the Atlantic into North and South America.
Meanwhile, other groups turned to more esoteric forms of Christianity.