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Waldensians

Year
c. 1173
Kind
Precursor

What it was

A movement of lay preaching and voluntary poverty that began in Lyon around 1173, was condemned in 1184 and persecuted for centuries. In 1532 it aligned with the Reformed wing of the Reformation and survives mainly in Piedmont and the River Plate region.

Little known

Waldensians reached the River Plate with Piedmontese immigrants in the mid-19th century: the Evangelical Waldensian Church of the River Plate today has congregations in Uruguay and Argentina, such as Colonia Valdense.

Key figures

  • Valdes (Peter Waldo) of Lyonc. 1140–c. 1205

Key documents

  • Synod of Chanforan: alignment with the Swiss Reformation1532