Waldenses

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The Waldensian coat of arms : candlestick with the inscription Lux lucet in tenebris "The light shines in the darkness"

The Waldensians are a Protestant church that is still widespread in Italy and some countries in South America . Originally founded as a community of religious lay people at the end of the 12th century by the Lyon merchant Petrus Valdes in southern France , the Waldenses preaching apostolic poverty , also called the poor of Lyon , were excluded from the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages and persecuted as heretics by the Inquisition . Despite the coercive measures, their beliefs spread rapidly in Europe and later also influenced the Protestant churches of the Reformation . The Waldensians see themselves as part and important forerunners of Reformed Protestantism, the churches are very simple and have neither altar nor cross.

The Waldensian valleys in the western Alps, in Piedmont on the border with Savoy, were an important retreat . But there, too, there were expulsions at the end of the 17th century, as a result of which several thousand Waldensians found a new home in southwest Germany and Hesse, many of them in new settlements.

In Piedmont, Savoy, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the term Waldensian was often synonymous not only with heretics per se, but also with witches , wizards , magicians and astrologers in the service of the devil.

Today the Evangelical Waldensian Church has around 98,000 members worldwide , 47,500 of them in Italy alone, where they have formed a joint church with the Methodists since 1979 , the Chiesa Evangelica Valdese ( Union of the Methodist and Waldensian Churches ).

history

The roots of the Waldensians are to be seen in the context of a social phenomenon that gripped a large number of lay people in the late 12th century: For various reasons, but especially because they “the secularization and the unworthiness of the clergy […] for the decline of the religious Making life responsible ”, an increasing number of Christians in Europe tried to be actively religious and to preach the Gospel in voluntary poverty following the example of Christ's apostles ( Vita apostolica ). From the large circle of these lay people both the heretically condemned communities of the Waldensians and the Humiliates as well as ecclesiastically recognized orders , such as the Franciscans, should emerge . Because of the theological parallels to the Reformation , the Waldensians are also viewed as pre-Reformation - for example Matthias Flacius Illyricus, who worked in the 16th century and a Lutheran theologian of Istrian origin, described the Waldensians in his Catalogus testium veritatis as “Protestants before the Reformation”.

Petrus Valdes

Valdes († before 1218), a wealthy merchant from Lyon, gave up his property after an experience of purification, organized meals for the poor around 1176/77 and gave traveling sermons with his followers on the basis of vernacular translations of the Gospels. There was inevitably a conflict with the Catholic Church because it saw the right to preach reserved for its own clergy , and because the release of the right to preach to lay people would have fundamentally called into question the very existence of the Church. Valdes was excommunicated by the latter in 1182/83 after he refused to obey the preaching ban imposed by the Lyons Archbishop Jean Bellesmains and expelled from the area around the city with his followers. The Waldensians then spread first in southern France and from there to many parts of Europe.

The hallmarks of the early Waldensians

The early followers of Valdes, both men and women, renounced personal possessions, lived on self-sufficient work or begging, wore simple robes and sandals and were therefore referred to as the arms of Lyon (also: Leonists ) in southern France . They had the Bible translated into the vernacular and followed Christ's biblical commission to his disciples: proclaim the gospel to all creatures ( Mk 16.15  EU ) and hold sermons as traveling preachers. It is true that the poor in Lyon always criticized the poor in the Catholic Church , but initially they considered themselves to be members of this Church. This changed after the poor of Lyon, despite the ban on preaching, refused to give up the public preaching of the Gospels and promoted the poverty movement , which is why they were increasingly viewed as heretics by the church. They were first listed as such in the bull Ad Abolendam, which was laid down in 1184 after the Council of Verona . The poor of Lyons , for their part, insisted on biblical readings of the Gospels and beliefs that ran counter to those of the Catholic Church. In addition, the northern Italian Waldensians, the Lombard poor , who did not live on donations, but (like the humiliates ) on manual labor in working groups (Werkkommunen), developed their own ideas.

In summary, the early Waldensians can be characterized as follows in terms of their religious conception and way of life:

In contrast to the poor of Lyon , the Lombard poor rejected the meaning of the seven sacraments and took the Donatist view that the effectiveness and validity of confession can only be achieved if the donor himself leads a sinless and flawless life. Even in the course of the Middle Ages, these differences of opinion blurred within Waldensianism, largely in favor of the viewpoints of the Lombard poor .

distribution

After their expulsion from Lyon in 1182/83, the Waldensians gained new followers, especially in Languedoc in the south of France , but were already active in northern Italy by 1184 . They appeared in Spain and northeastern France in the 1190s. A little after 1200, the Waldensians are likely to have reached the southern German-speaking area. Strong communities existed here by 1250, especially in the Austrian Danube region and in Bavaria , but also in Swabia and the Upper Rhineland . The Waldensians probably did not advance into central, eastern and northern Germany until the beginning of the 14th century, during which time there were also Waldensians in Poland , Bohemia , Slovakia and Hungary . Presumably during the 15th century, the Waldensians largely disappeared from the German-speaking area. The Waldensians' turn to Hussiteism or a successful approach by the Inquisition are seen as possible causes for this . Today's Waldensian communities in Germany go back to resettlements in the second half of the 17th century. B. in Hessen under Thomas Gautier .

Waldensians also lived in Provence. They were settled there by the feudal lords at the end of the Middle Ages in order to revive the then deserted places. Several Waldensian synods took place in Mérindol in the Luberon .

Groups, organization and names

At the beginning of the 13th century, there were two large Waldensian groups: the southern French poor of Lyon and the northern Italian Lombard poor under their spokesman Giovanni de Ronco . The German-speaking area was evangelized by both groups. Although in 1218 an attempt at unification between the poor of Lyons and the Lombard poor failed at a specially convened meeting in Bergamo , the group distinction is likely to have lost its importance in the course of the later persecutions during the 13th century. A significant split occurred in 1207 when the Waldensian scholar Durandus von Osca (often in German-language literature: Durandus von Huesca ) returned to the Roman Church with a large number of Italian fellow believers. In doing so, Pope Innocent III . a Professio fidei Waldensibus praescripta , a creed that Durandus of Huesca and other Waldensians who wanted to return to the Church had to make. This creed, however, also contains the revocation of dualistic errors that were not represented by the Waldensians, but were characteristic of the Cathars . These Waldensians who were willing to return were given the designation Catholic Arms (Pauperes Catholici) and were absorbed into the Augustinian order after 1245 .

Within the Waldensian communities, the Waldensian preachers, who were also called masters , customers or confessors in the German-speaking world, stood above the ordinary believers . In the French-speaking world, they were often referred to as barbs (Occitan: "uncle" - for someone who knows the Bible). The ministerial office could only be acquired after a long training. The main task of the preachers was the sermon, missionary work and the acquisition of donations and the distribution of income. The preaching took place both on a wandering, which was usually undertaken by two preachers together, as well as in specially established house communities or assembly centers, which were called schools . Although medieval Waldensianism was organized rather flatly, despite persecution, it repeatedly formed regional governing bodies. Headquarters or bishop's offices existed in northern Italy and Austria in the 13th century and in southern France in the 14th century. In addition, larger assemblies were called periodically in Provence and Lombardy to serve international coordination.

In the German-speaking area, the Waldensians were often referred to as Rünkler , derived from the name Giovanni de Roncos . A particularly dense network of assembly centers existed in the Austrian Danube region in the 13th century. The term Waldensian (derived from Valdes ) was originally a foreign name and was only adopted by the descendants of Valdes at the beginning of the 16th century.

Condemnation and persecution of the medieval Waldensians

After the excommunication of Valdes' by the Archbishop of Lyon due to the dispute over the lay sermon, the poor of Lyon were for the first time in 1184 in the one of Pope Lucius III. Edict Ad Abolendam , written after the Council of Verona , listed as a heretic , subject to permanent excommunication and threatened with severe penal sanctions. Another conviction took place in 1215 in the course of the IV Lateran Council under Pope Innocent III. In 1252 the Waldensians were condemned again by name in the bull Ad Extirpanda written by Pope Innocent IV : "Cataros, ... Valdenses, ... et omnes Hereticos ... perpetue damnamus infamia" ("We condemn the Cathars , Waldensians and all heretics forever Dishonor (' Infamy ') ”). From the 1230 / 1240s persecution by the Inquisition began . These persecutions were mostly regional and organized for shorter periods of time. But Waldensians were also persecuted by local rulers outside of the inquisitorial pursuits. Up until modern times, there were repeated attempts to physically exterminate Waldensianism, especially in Italy, Savoy , France, Germany, Austria and Bohemia.

On June 22, 2015, Pope Francis asked the Waldensians for forgiveness for the persecution they had suffered.

Later developments

In the course of the persecution, the missionary work of the Waldensians was severely disrupted. Up until the first half of the 13th century, the Waldensians had initially set up Bible schools and meeting centers in their own houses in southern France, northern Italy and Austria, but under the pressure of persecution they had to be abandoned. The Waldensian preachers had to work more in secret and now hardly devoted themselves to the mission, but increasingly to the care of the remaining own congregations. In the German-speaking world, confession gained increasing importance among the Waldensians in the 14th century . The teaching of Jan Hus exerted a great attraction for the German-speaking Waldensians at the beginning of the 15th century . Many of them therefore joined the Hussites , especially the Hussite community of the Bohemian Brothers (see also: Friedrich Reiser ). Thereafter, until the resettlement of the Waldensians in the 17th century, there was hardly any evidence of Waldensians in the German-speaking area.

In Europe, Waldensian communities lived mainly in inaccessible mountain valleys in the Franco-Italian Alps until they joined the Reformation at the beginning of the 16th century . In 1532 the Waldensians founded their own Reformed Church in the Waldensian valleys of the Cottian Alps at the Synod of Chanforan . When they were suspected of heresy , they handed over their confession to the Duke of Savoy in 1560 in the form of the Calvinist Confessio Gallicana . In its Darmstadt version of 1655 it is considered the official creed of the Waldensians, although in Germany they mostly joined the Lutheran regional churches.

Waldensians also lived in Calabria , but they were largely destroyed during the Counter Reformation in 1561. In the Pragelato and Perosa valleys the Waldensian communities were able to hold out until they were persecuted again from 1685 to 1701. Almost 3,000 Protestants fled to Geneva and from there to Germany, where they were able to settle in their own communities.

Finally, on February 17, 1848, the Italian Waldensians were granted freedom of belief in a patent from Charles Albert I , King of Sardinia-Piedmont . With these Lettere Patenti , the Waldensians also achieved civil equality, i. H. also the right to choose a profession freely and the right to purchase land.

Regional developments

Waldensians in Germany

Neuhengstett coat of arms , until 1711 Le Bourcet

Large groups of Waldensians and Huguenots , who were expelled from Piedmont in 1698 , found acceptance in Hesse-Darmstadt , Hesse-Kassel , Hesse-Homburg , Nassau-Dillenburg , Baden-Durlach and in the Duchy of Württemberg . They founded new Waldensian settlements in Rohrbach , Wembach and Hahn (today districts of Ober-Ramstadt ), Walldorf (today district of Mörfelden-Walldorf ), Dornholzhausen (today district of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe), Gottstreu and Gewissenruh (today districts the community Wesertal ), Charlottenberg (today a place in the Verbandsgemeinde Diez ) and in several localities in the Duchy of Württemberg, where Duke Eberhard Ludwig von Württemberg allowed the expelled Waldensians to settle. Under the direction of Pastor Henri Arnaud , the displaced people settled in a remote area in the north-west of the duchy, depopulated by the Thirty Years' War and poor in people, near the village of Ötisheim in the current district of Schönenberg , where a Waldensian museum is now located in the former home of Henri Arnaud . When they arrived, the Waldensians drained swamps and planted potatoes , among other things , which were previously unknown to the locals. The settlement of the Waldensians in southern Germany is therefore directly related to the spread of the potato. A commemorative plaque was even dedicated to the introduction of the potato, which is attached to the house of Henri Arnaud in Schönenberg.

The reformed Waldensians were expressly guaranteed the right to exercise their religion freely. Services were held in French dialect until the early 19th century. Although the Württemberg settlement proved to be the more permanent one, it was also incorporated into the Evangelical Lutheran regional church at the beginning of the 19th century .

Between Pforzheim and Stuttgart , place names such as Pinache , Perouse , Corres , Sengach or Serres are still reminiscent of the old Waldensian settlements . Further north are Großvillars , which today belongs to Oberderdingen , or Kleinvillars , which is now a district of Knittlingen and Dürrmenz (Waldenserstraße), district of Mühlacker. Untermutschelbach, formerly part of the Mutschelbach community and now part of Karlsbad, is a Waldensian community. Also Nordhausen (now part of the municipality Nordheim ) as the only Waldenserort the Heilbronn-Franken region , Neuhengstett in Calw and Karlsruher neighborhoods Welsch Neureut and Palm Bach resulting from Waldensian settlements; in the latter, the Waldenserweg reminds of the foundation in 1701. Even in the townscape with its street-side gables, the special settlement structure of the Waldensian villages can still be recognized in these places. The French surnames of many residents, such as Cordier, Gille, Roux, Granget, Conle, Common, Vallon, Jourdan, Jouvenal, Piston, Richardon, Servay, Talmon, Conte, Baral, Gay, Orcellet or Salen, are still reminiscent of the Savoy origin . In Stuttgart there is also an Italian-speaking Waldensian community with 90 members that is independent of the regional church.

Waldensians in Austria

In Austria , too, there were Waldensian communities in the 13th and 14th centuries. They have been demonstrable here since the first half of the 13th century. Their main distribution area was in the southern Danube region from the Salzkammergut to the Vienna Woods . In this area the Inquisition first took place around 1260 in over forty Waldensian communities, many of which were equipped with semi-public assembly centers ("schools").

Until the inquisition began, it can be assumed that the neighbors of the Waldensian faith were tolerated by the Catholic population. The Inquisition from around 1260 pushed the Waldensians underground and there were numerous executions. The Waldensians were persecuted again from 1311-1315 in the areas around Steyr , St. Pölten , Vienna and Krems and around 1370 in the area of ​​Steyr, which is seen as a stronghold of the Waldensian people. In the wake of the latter wave of persecution, some high-ranking members of the Waldensian community returned to Catholicism and attacked their former confreres in pamphlets . Under the inquisitor Petrus Zwicker there were again severe persecutions from 1391 to 1402, including a. in Steyr, Enns , Hartberg (Styria), Ödenburg and Vienna. In 1397 between 80 and 100 Waldensians were burned in Steyr, as a memorial erected there in 1997 commemorates. In the 15th century the traces of the Austrian Waldensians are lost. The reasons for this are not clear. It was also suspected that the Austrian Waldensians would merge with Hussiteism or the resounding success of the Inquisition by Petrus Zwicker.

Waldensians in Switzerland

In 1532 at a synod in Chanforan near Angrogna , the Waldensians found connection to Calvinism , then they found acceptance into the Reformed cities. This is how the Waldensian communities emerged outside of Italy. In 1689, the majority of them returned to their homeland in the “Glorious Return”, but traces remained. Reformed emigrants from Italy to Switzerland, including many Waldensians, were dependent on being able to celebrate their services in their language. In the 20th century, various “Chiese valdesi” or “Chiese evangelice di lingua italiana” were founded, which are still active today. Most of the Waldensian communities are now embedded in the respective Reformed cantonal churches . There is also a Waldensian committee and other Waldensian support organizations in reformed circles.

present

The Italian Waldensians since 1848

Waldensian Church in Piazza Cavour in Rome
Waldensian Church in Milan
Waldensian Church in Torre Pellice

After the Waldensians were granted their religious rights and civil liberty in 1848, almost 700 years of persecution, displacement and oppression came to an end. The Lettere Patenti guaranteed them the right of free choice of profession and the right to purchase land. Even today, the signing of the Lettere Patenti is celebrated every year on February 17th in the Italian Waldensian communities .

From 1848 the Waldensians founded various social institutions throughout Italy, including old people's homes, children's homes, schools and meeting centers such as Agape in Prali ( Turin province ). Around these the present-day communities of the Waldensian diaspora arose , which are scattered all over Italy. The geographic center of the Waldensians is still the so-called Waldensian valleys in the Cottian Alps west of Turin, where most of the largest communities are to be found. The theological center in the form of a theological faculty, on the other hand, is in Rome, where the tavola  - the democratically elected church administration and the elected representative, the moderate , have their seat.

In 1855 the Facoltà Valdese di Teologia (Waldensian Theological Faculty ) was established in Torre Pellice ; In 1922 it was moved to Rome (Via Pietro Cossa 42; near Piazza Cavour). During fascism (1922–1945) the Waldensian communities were placed under state observation; Due to the regime's privileged relationship with the Catholic Church, Protestants were not allowed to hold any public office; the French language was banned, including in worship, as was the church press. Many Piedmontese Waldensians therefore joined the resistance against the Mussolini regime and the German occupation of northern Italy during the Second World War , especially the partisan groups of the Partito d'Azione , which led the fascist authorities to the view “ I valdesi sono tutti ribelli  - The Waldensians are all rebels ”.

With the Italian Constitution of 1948, all religions (new: “ confessioni ”) were given equal status before the law and the free practice of religion was guaranteed. The 1929 Concordat between the State and the Vatican was confirmed and the Catholic Church remained the state religion until 1984 . Only after the revision of the Concordat was a contract ( Intesa ) concluded between the Italian state and the Waldensian Tavola , which also allowed state benefits to be claimed.

The church has benefited financially from the introduction of the Italian mandate tax : More than 400,000 Italians regularly decide to determine part of their taxes to support the church, which, however, only supports social and cultural projects, not its own church work.

In January 2005, a memorial in memory of the persecution of the Waldensians by the Catholic Inquisition was unveiled in the northern Italian city of Pinerolo near Turin. It is the very first ecumenical monument in Italy and was commissioned by the Waldensian Church and the Catholic Bishop of Pinerolo. The round sculpture designed by the Austrian sculptor Gerald Brandstötter in bronze has the shape of a large flame and is supposed to represent the burning of the Waldensians by the Inquisition. Hope and reconciliation symbolize a girl with raised hands and a view of the sky.

Worldwide diaspora

As a result of the wave of Italian emigration from 1880 to 1914, around 13,300 Waldensians now live in Argentina and Uruguay . Today around 50,000 members of the Waldensian Church live outside Italy, including 400 in six parishes of the Chiesa Evangelica di lingua italiana in Switzerland. In addition, there are some Waldensians who, as in Germany (approx. 4000), France and in the US states of New York and North Carolina have joined the Protestant churches there.

Waldensians in Germany

Independent Waldensian congregations have not existed in Germany since 1830; these were incorporated into the respective regional Evangelical churches . Former German Waldensian communities are located in Neuhengstett , Karlsruhe-Neureut , Charlottenberg , Schwabendorf , Todenhausen , Mörfelden-Walldorf , Dornholzhausen , Ötisheim- Schönenberg with the seat of the German Waldensian Association and Corres, Ober-Ramstadt -Rohrbach and -Wembach-Hahn, Waldensberg , Palmbach , Großvillars , Kleinvillars , Nordheim-Nordhausen , Perouse , Pinache , Sengach , Serres , Wurmberg with the former Waldensian district of Lucerne, Gewissenruh and Gottstreu , where a Waldensian museum has also existed since 1991.

German-Italian reconciliation approaches after 1945

Theophil Wurm had campaigned for the Stuttgart declaration of guilt and began to actively campaign for a reconciliation with France and Italy on the basis of the Württemberg diaspora relations. The centenary of Statuto Albertino , which took place in 1948 , was used as an opportunity to exchange ideas with representatives of the EKD and the local Waldensian communities. In 1949 the moderator of the Tavola Valdese, Guglielmo Del Pesco (1889–1951), was invited to Maulbronn to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Waldensian emigration to Germany. He could not appear for health reasons, his envoy, A. Jalla, a teacher who in 1945 was still hateful of everything German, took an active part in the celebrations and reconciliation efforts. The first town twinning between Germany and France was signed in 1950 between Ludwigsburg and the Protestant enclave Montbéliard , also based on the connections of the Württemberg regional church. The Gustav-Adolf-Werk of the EKD supports the Italian Waldensian diaspora communities to this day.

Timeline for the history of the Waldensians

year event
1177 Valdes becomes an itinerant preacher and establishes the faith community in Lyon.
1179 The Waldensians ask Pope Alexander III. for approval of their preaching activity.
1182-1183 Expulsion of the Waldensians from Lyon. Beginning of the expansion of the community.
1184 Pope Lucius III condemns the Waldensians as heretics for the first time at the Council of Verona .
1218 Valdes dies before this date. This year the Waldensians are holding a conference in Bergamo on questions of faith and organization.
1231 Waldensians are in Trier . First reliable news about Waldensians in Germany.
1335-1353  Persecution of the Waldensians in South Bohemia under Inquisitor Gallus von Neuhaus
1391-1398 severe persecution in Germany and Austria by the Inquisition under Petrus Zwicker
1532 The Waldensians of the Cottian Alps , the Luberon and Catalonia join the Reformation .
1545 Persecution of the Waldensians in the Luberon
1560 The Piedmontese Waldensians, who had already joined the Reformed Church in 1532, presented the Confessio Gallicana to the Duke of Savoy as their confession in 1560. In the abridged and edited form from 1655, it is still considered today as the Waldensian confession.
1560-1561 The Waldensian communities in Calabria and Catalonia are wiped out.
1655 Many Waldensians in Piedmont fell victim to a massacre .
1685 The French King Louis XIV. (Louis XIV.) Forbids the Evangelical Reformed Church in the Chisonetal . The Waldensians who lived there fled to Switzerland and Germany .
1687 The Piedmontese Waldensians are expelled by the Duke of Savoy .
1689 Glorious return - the Piedmontese Waldensians leave their Swiss exile and return.
1698 The French Waldensians are driven out of Piedmont again. They are accepted in Germany.
1699-1701 Waldensian colonies were founded in southern Hesse , Württemberg and Baden .
1805-1830 End of the German Waldensian communities; they will be integrated into the existing Protestant regional churches .
1834 Alexis Muston publishes his work "Histoire des Vaudois des vallées du Piémont et de leurs colonies, depuis leur origine jusqu'à nos jours" on the history of the Waldensians and therefore has to flee a year later. Encouraged by the book, more and more English and German Protestants are traveling to the Waldensian valleys and are helping to build communities and educational structures there.
1848 The Waldensians received full civil rights in the Kingdom of Sardinia- Piedmont on February 18, 1848. When the Italian national state was founded in 1861, this rule was retained, and the Waldensian Church was constitutionally tolerated ( culto tolerato ).
1850 Pressed by poverty, many Waldensians leave the Waldensian valleys in the direction of the New World.
1929 With the Concordat between Mussolini and the Pope as part of the Lateran Treaties of February 11, 1929, which clarified the Roman question , the Catholic Church becomes the Italian state religion . The Waldensian Church is legally permitted in Italy ( culto ammesso ).
1948 In the Italian constitution, all religions (new: confessioni ) are given equal status before the law and the freedom to practice religion is guaranteed. The 1929 Concordat is confirmed and the Catholic Church remains the state religion.
1975/1979 Association of the Italian Waldensians with the Italian Methodists for the Chiesa Evangelica Valdese .
1984 After the concordat was repealed, the mandate already contained in the 1948 constitution to conclude contracts ( Intesa ) with the individual churches on the part of the state was implemented for the Waldensian Church in 1984.
2010 The Waldensian Church becomes a member of the World Fellowship of Reformed Churches.
2015 For the first time apologized to Francis , a Pope for the prosecution in the Middle Ages.

See also

literature

  • Gabriel Audisio: The Waldensians. The story of a religious movement. Munich 1996.
  • Peter Biller: The Waldenses, 1170-1530. Between a religious order and a church. Variorum Collected Studies Series 676, Aldershot 2001.
  • Euan K. Cameron : Waldenses. In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie 35 (2003), pp. 388-402.
  • Martin Erbstößer: Social-religious currents in the late Middle Ages. Flagellants, free spirits and Waldensians in the 14th century. Berlin 1970.
  • Martin Erbstößer: Structures of the Waldensians in Germany in the 14th century. In: Sabine Tanz (Ed.): Mentality and Society in the Middle Ages. Contributions to the history of mentality 2, Frankfurt am Main 1993, pp. 95-106.
  • Helga Fiala: The Waldensians in Steyr: A pre-Reformation movement. Ennsthaler Verlag, Steyr 2017, ISBN 978-3-85068-974-8 .
  • Heidi Fogel, Matthias Loesch (ed. On behalf of the city of Neu-Isenburg): “Out of love and compassion against the persecuted”. Contributions to the founding history of Neu-Isenburg . edition momos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH: Neu-Isenburg 1999. ISBN 3-930578-07-7 .
  • Bernard Gonnet: Les Vaudois au Moyen Age. 1976.
  • Giovanni Gonnet: Le cheminement des vaudois vers le schisme et l'hérésie. Cahiers de civilization médiévale 19, 1976.
  • Theo Kiefner : The privileges of the Waldensians who came to Germany. Stuttgart 1991.
  • Theo Kiefner: The Waldensians on their way from the Val Cluson through Switzerland to Germany 1532–1820 / 30 , 5 volumes.
    • Volume 1: Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Val Cluson 1532–1730. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1985.
    • Volume 2: Temporarily to Germany 1685–1698. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1985.
    • Volume 3: Finally to Germany 1698–1820 / 30. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1995.
    • Volume 4: The pastors of the Waldensian colonies in Germany. The pastors and their parishes. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997.
  • Dietrich kurz : On the heretic history of the Mark Brandenburg and Pomerania, mainly in the 14th century. Luciferians, cleaning cellars and Waldensians. In: Yearbook for the History of Central and Eastern Germany 16/17 (1968), pp. 50–94.
  • Albert de Lange , Gerhard Schwinge (ed.): Contributions to Waldensian historiography. In particular on German-speaking Waldensian historians from the 18th to 20th centuries, Waldensian studies 1, Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher 2003, ISBN 978-3-89735-235-3 .
  • Albert de Lange: The Waldensians. History of a European Faith Movement in Pictures. Karlsruhe 2000, ISBN 3-89116-048-8 .
  • Sandra Marcella Lucia Liebscher: Current cultural problems and variants of the Valdesi. Ethnography of the Italian Waldensians 1991–1993. In: Treatises on the history of geosciences and religion. Environmental research, supplement 8, Bochum 1994, ISBN 3-8196-0301-8 .
  • Barbro Lovisa: Italian Waldensians and Protestant Germany 1655 to 1989. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1993.
  • Amadeo Molnár : The Waldensians. History and European extent of a heretic movement. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1980.
  • Waltraud Plieninger: Waldensians - religious refugees after the Thirty Years War in Württemberg. In: Migration 45 (2002) ( online ).
  • Martin Schneider: European Waldensianism in the 13th and 14th centuries. Community form - piety - social background. Berlin 1981.
  • Kurt-Victor Selge : The first Waldensians. With edition of the Liber Antiheresis by Durandus von Osca. 2 volumes, Works on Church History 37, Berlin 1967.
  • Paul R. Tarmann: The Waldensians' concept of poverty. A socio-philosophical approach. Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-631-60203-4 .
  • Giorgio Tourn: History of the Waldensian Church. Claudiana, Turin 1980. (New edition: History of the Waldensians. Kitab-Verlag, Klagenfurt / Neuendettelsau, Erlanger Verlag für Mission und Ökumene 2006.)
  • Kathrin Utz Tremp (ed.): Sources on the history of the Waldensians of Freiburg im Üchtland (1399–1439). Monumenta Germaniae Historica, sources on the intellectual history of the Middle Ages 18. Hannover 2000, ISBN 3-7752-1018-0 .
  • Tullio Vinay : love that moves mountains. Quell-Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-7918-3452-5 .
  • Martin Windischhofer: The Waldensians in Austria. Awakening, persecution and change in the early movement up to 1315. University publication , Vienna 2006.

Web links

Wiktionary: Waldensian  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Waldensians  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quotation “We have been persecuted by the Catholics and the Calvinists in the name of the cross”, in: The power of religion in politics: Paul Tillich's contribution to the question of power in the relationship between Christian religion and politics, Evangelical Academy Loccum, 1988
  2. ^ Reformed, What does "Evangelical Reformed Church" mean? ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Evangelical Waldensian parish, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.waldenserkirche.de
  3. ↑ Amedeo Molnár: The Waldensians - History and European extent of a heretic movement. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht , Göttingen, 1980.
  4. ↑ Andrea Spalinger: Luther's forgotten forerunners. The Waldensian Movement, founded in 1175, was almost wiped out over hundreds of years. It still has 30,000 members in Italy. However, over 500,000 Italians entrust her with their church tax , Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich, August 29, 2017
  5. ↑ Josef Neuner, Heinrich Roos: The faith of the church in the documents of the teaching proclamation ; ed. by Karl Rahner SJ. Pustet, Regensburg, 7th edition, 1965, p. 270.
  6. ↑ Gabriel Audisio: The Waldensians. The story of a religious movement. CH Beck, Munich 1996: p. 21
  7. ↑ a b c Waldensian magazine. No. 243, 1/2010, ISSN  0174-786X
  8. ^ Eg Neuner and Roos: The faith of the church in the documents of the doctrinal proclamation. Pustet, Regensburg 1965 (7); Malcolm Lambert: Heresy in the Middle Ages
  9. ↑ Denziger-Schönmetzer: Enchiridion Symbolorum Definitionum et Declarationum de rebus fidei et morum , Herder, Friburgi Breisgoviae 1965, editio XXXIV, pp. 79-797
  10. ↑ History of the Waldensians, chapter "Petrus Valdes" and Reformiert-Online, 4.Die Waldensians
  11. ^ Oppressed Faith Community. Pope Francis asks Waldensians for forgiveness. RP Online June 22, 2015. Accessed June 23, 2015.
  12. ↑ Th.Kiefner: The Waldensian on their way ... to Germany , Confessio Gallicana, p.59
  13. ↑ Eberhard Gresch: The Huguenots. History, Belief and Impact. 4th, revised edition. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2009, ISBN 978-3-374-02260-1 , pp. 118-235.
  14. ^ A b Fitschen: Protestant minority churches in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. P. 57
  15. ↑ http://www.waldenser.de/main.php?ref=r2
  16. ^ Siegfried Hermle : The end of the Württemberg Waldensian church in the 19th century. In: Blätter für Württembergische Kirchengeschichte 101 (2001), pp. 70–113.
  17. ↑ Very detailed on this: Alexander Patschovsky: Der Passauer Anonymus. A compilation of heretics, Jews and Antichrist from the middle of the 13th century. Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Schriften 22, Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1968 (also: dissertation at the University of Munich, 1968).
  18. ↑ Valentin Preuenhueber: Annales Styrenses including its historical and genealogical writings. Nuremberg 1740, p. 47.
  19. ↑ Leopold Stainreuter: Chronicle of the 95 dominions. In: German chronicles and other history books of the Middle Ages 6: Austrian chronicle of the 95 dominions. Edited by Joseph Seemüller . Hannover 1906, p. 221 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version ).
  20. ^ Veit Arnpeck: Chronicon Austriacum. In: Hieronymus Pez: Scriptores rerum Austriacum. Volume 1, Leipzig 1721, p. 1244.
  21. ^ Fitschen: Protestant minority churches in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. P. 78 ff.
  22. ↑ Joint project funding of the Waldensians with the GAW. Gustav-Adolf-Werk, January 11, 2013, accessed on May 5, 2015 .
  23. ↑ Cf. Theo Kiefner: Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Val Cluson 1532–1730. Göttingen 1980, p. 111 google-books
  24. ↑ http://buechnerportal.de/dokumente/haben/jean-baptiste-alexis-muston/