no 24 | pierre de vaudes
Later known as Peter Waldo, Pierre de Vaudes (or Valdes) began a movement that some, including myself, consider the practice run for the Protestant Reformation - three and a half centuries earlier. Tradition has it that de Vaudes made his monetary fortune through usury; historically, we know that he was wealthy merchant of some type. Sometime in the 1170's CE around Lyons, France, de Vaudes had a major paradigm shift motivated by the second half of Matthew 19:
Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself." The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me… And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
De Vaudesput his affairs in order, arranging a place for his wife and daughters and made sure they were taken care of, and began preaching. His followers would refer to themselves as "Brothers", but more specifically the "Poor in Christ," "Poor in Spirit," or "Poor of Lyons" - they would later be known by their pejorative, the "Waldensians." For contemporary readers, the Waldensians seem simply like a very pious sect of Protestant Christianity, but at their time anything differing from the status quo was considered dangerous, especially in a place where the gnostic Cathars were flourishing.
In 1176, De Vaude sold his possessions and became a wandering preacher. By 1179 he had amassed a significant following, so much so that he had the attention of Pope Alexander III and was forbidden to teach. De Vaude and his brethren (there is little indication that females were prominent in the movement) continued to preach regardless of the order and five years later they were declared schismatics by Pope Lucius III and then excommunicated.
So what were De Vaude's insubordinations? His first effort was to fight for a literal interpretation of the Bible. Nowadays this is usually associated with fanaticism and regressive perspectives, but at that time the literal interpretation of the Bible meant what it is: help your fellow man. When Jesus says "sell your possessions and follow me" he, well, actually means it. Certainly the Catholic church could not have a problem with this. No. In fact, Pope Alexander III actually blessed their lifestyle. This is also the case with De Vaude's second effort to practice genuine poverty. While his contemporaries may not be falling over dead like Ananias and Sapphira, De Vaude most likely thought that the institution of tithing was a watered-down version of Jesus' teaching, a relic from Jewish first-fruits - genuine tithing was declaring absolute poverty in favour of spiritual fulfillment.
So if it wasn't the Biblical literalism or the absolute poverty, what was it? It actually wasn't what De Vaude was preaching, it was that he was preaching. De Vaude was a layman. Only clergy were allowed to preach on doctrinal matters. De Vaude had crossed the ecclesiastical boundary. A year after De Vaude's death in 1207, many of the brethren were indiscriminately murdered during the crusade against the Cathars and in 1215, the Poor of Lyons, orthodox in every way Catholic, apart from the ecclesiastical hierarchy, were officially declared heretics.
Needless to say, De Vaude is easily one of the most under-repesented heroes of church history, overshadowed by more "successful" calls to poverty, as in the case of Francis of Assisi, and a more politicized rejection of traditional authorities, as in the case of Martin Luther. Unlike Francis or Luther, de Vaude lived at a time where alternative views were not being sought out and ripe for massive change. He had no ulterior motives other than a call for church leadership to return to the ways of the disciples of their Christ.
I first read about Peter Waldo around the same time I was studying the Sermon on the Mount, and the impact of both would forever change my political and social views. Discussions between "hand-outs" and "hand-ups" became transparent and irrelevant. Somehow, going to Bible college, attending chapel and vespers, and proclaiming a love for Jesus became empty. Although my life would take me in a different direction, the story of Pierre de Vaude and his Poor of Lyons would remain, for me, a beacon of light among the darkness of Christian history.
