Peter Waldo And The Reformation

During the eleventh and twelfth centuries we can read about a very

interesting and somewhat mysterious figure. He is referred to by many names,

such as, Valdes, Valdesius, Valdensius, and Waldo (Valdo), from the city of

Lyons. Though references to Waldo and his followers (Waldensians) seem to be always in the shadows, being difficult to understand, and always enduring persecution, they seem to have been on the cutting edge of The Reformation. According to the “Anonymous writer of Passau,” some have attempted to carry the origin of the Waldensians back to the apostolic age. Most have given up on this theory, due to investigation by many German scholars. Early Waldensian sources are few and unreliable, and not much is known about the founder. Even his name is shrouded in somewhat of a mystery. The story goes that Waldo and his followers were preaching in the streets of Lyon and were asked to cease by the bishop of Lyon. Waldo’s reply was a quote from Peter. He replied, “they ought to obey God, rather than men.” Having quoted Peter, the name Peter became attached to his own. Though slight and subtle, Peter Waldo and his followers had an impact on the Christian world of his time, sending ripples throughout history that can still be sensed in present day Christianity.

The actions and views of Waldo are shrouded in mystery because neither he, nor contemporaries in his movement ever chronicled their lives. This may be due in part to the fact that many of his first followers were common people, uneducated and illiterate. One account does tell us that Waldo was aroused to religious zeal by the sudden death of a leading member of the city of Lyon, of

which he was a witness. He then heard a ballad sung by a minstrel on the public sq...

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...amine the promise Christ once made. “ I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

Works Cited

Cameron, Euan. “The Reformation of the Heretics: The Waldenses of the Alps,

1480-1580. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984

Tourn, Giorgio. “The Waldensians: The First 800 Years (1174-1974).

Translated from the Italian by Camilo P. Merlino, Charles W. Arbuthnot, editor. Torino, Italy: Claudiana Editrice, 1980.Fs

Dennis H. McCallum “The Waldensian Movement: From Waldo to the

Reformation” 2- January, 1987

The Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica “Waldenses” Britannica online. Web.

July 17, 2014

Stong, C.H. “A Brief Sketch of the Waldenses. London: Lawrence, Kansas:

J.S. Boughton Publishing Co., 1893

Justo L. Gonzalez “The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation” HarperCollins, New York NY, 2010