The superstitions
practiced by the Roman church
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kept men's consciences
bound to her false doctrines.
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People were taught to
trust in their own good works
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to save themselves.
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God, and even Christ, were
depicted as stern and sullen;
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only through the priests and the
saints could they come to Christ
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This altar: ,
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depicts Mary booting 2
reformers out of heaven,
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they are Martin
Luther and John Huss.
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Below the altar a
little angel is tearing pages
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out of a book, the
Holy Word of God, the Bible.
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Although this was
sculpted in the early 1700s
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it represents the defiant
attitude of the Catholic church
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during the 1260 years
of spiritual darkness.
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The Waldenses understood
the teachings of Rome,
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and the bondage in
which the people lived.
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These faithful missionaries
longed to point these people
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to the loving Jesus, who
died that they might obtain
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true liberty.
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Searching out the honest
in heart, they taught them
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that Jesus was their true
priest, that to Jesus alone
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they must confess their sins,
and that Jesus was faithful
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to forgive them and
to cleanse them from sin.
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Thus, the light of truth
came into many a darkened mind.
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The Son of Righteousness shone
into their heart with healing
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in His beams.
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Now the fear of death was
banished, and they were able
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to look up and
accept Christ fully.
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Although these new
converts faced persecution,
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they were filled
with joy and courage,
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and they, like all
true followers of Christ,
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told others about
their newfound faith,
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and many joined the
Waldensian believers.
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In the year 1488
Pope Innocent VllI decreed
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that all the Waldensian
people of the Cottian Alps
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were to be put to death.
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A papal sword was to be
unsheathed, to be used against
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God's commandment keeping people
and was not to be returned
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to it's scabbard while a
single confessor of the faith
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remained alive.
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Rome insisted that the
Waldenses should submit
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to her power.
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Church officials were
sent out with a decree in hand
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and informed them
thus: that if they would come
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to the bosom of the
church of Rome, and embrace
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the Roman Catholic religion,
they should enjoy their houses,
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properties and lands,
and live with their families
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without the least
molestation, but if they refuse
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to comply with
these propositions,
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persecution should ensue, and
certain death be their portion.
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To each of the propositions
declared, the Waldenses
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nobly replied that no
considerations, whatever,
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should make them
renounce their religion.
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Because of their
refusal to submit to Rome
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the papacy chose Albert Cataneo
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to lead on a daring
attack against the Waldenses.
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The plan of attack
was designed to strike
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a deadly blow in the center
of the Waldensian territory:
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the Valley of Angrogna.
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Cataneo's army was to be
separated into 2 divisions.
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1 division, led by
Cataneo himself, moved toward
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the Pra del Tor via
the Valley of Angrogna,
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destroying
everything on their way.
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The cruel La Palud led
the other division up the Alps
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of Dauphiny, and
entered the Veil of Louise,
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a deep gorge overhung
by towering mountains.
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Waldensian scouts observed
the papal forces invading
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their territory; hastily
placing their goods in carts
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and gathering their flocks
and herds, the Waldenses began
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to climb the rugged
slopes of Mont Pelvoux
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rising 6,000
feet above the valley.
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Songs of praise to
God rose from their lips,
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dispelling their terror.
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About half way up, at the
top of an immense precipice,
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they came upon a
platform of rock leading into
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a large cavern.
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The roof of the cave
formed a magnificent arch,
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which gradually narrowed
into a small passage way,
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then widened into a roomy hall.
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The herds were distributed
along the side cavities
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of the cave;
mothers, fathers and children
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found room inside, and
the entrance was barricaded
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with huge stones.
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Then, able bodied men
posted themselves to watch.
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The enemy, knowing
their prey was in the cave,
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approached from above.
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Soldiers were let down
by ropes from the precipice
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overhanging the
entrance to the grotto.
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The platform in front
of the cave was secured
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by La Palud's men.
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The Waldenses retreated
deeper into their hiding place,
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rather than sending
his troops into the cave,
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La Palud ordered his
men to collect all the wood
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they could find and
piling it up at the entrance
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of the cave, set it on fire.
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A huge volume of black
smoke rolled into the cave,
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one can only imagine
the feelings of God's people
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in that cave when the
smoke filled the cavern,
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suffocating all its inhabitants.
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Surely they hung on
to the promises of God.
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When the cavern
was afterward examined,
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there were found in
it 400 infants suffocated
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in their cradles, or in
the arms of their dead mothers,
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altogether, there
perished in this cave
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more than 3000 Waldenses.
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What was the crime that deserved
this frightful punishment?
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It was dependence upon the
Bible as the only rule of faith,
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and rejection of the
traditions and teachings
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of the Roman Catholic church.
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While La Palud was on
his mission of destruction
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on Mont Peloux, Cataneo
was leading his army north
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and west, to
destroy the Waldenses
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in the Valley of Angronga.
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Into the narrow
defiles he led his soldiers,
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beyond where great
rocks overhung the path.
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But there was no resistance.
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On into the valley of Angronga,
Cataneo and his host marched.
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The homes of the
Waldenses were empty
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and the valley
was empty as well.
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Cataneo surmised that
the people of the valley
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had fled to the Pra del Tor.
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Between Cataneo and
his prey rose a steep,
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unscalable mountain, which runs
like a wall across the valley.
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It seemed that the
advance of the papal legate,
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and his army, would
end before this great,
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natural barricade.
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They could see the white
peaks of the high mountains
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surrounding the Pra.
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After much searching, Cataneo
discovered the single path
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that opens through the mountain.
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Some convulsion of
nature had rent the mountains,
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forming a long,
narrow, dark chasm.
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Cataneo boldly ordered
his men to enter and traverse
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this frightful gorge,
not knowing how few of them
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he would ever lead back.
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The only pathway through
this chasm is a rocky ledge
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on the side of the
mountain, so narrow than no more
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than 2 abreast
could advance along it.
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If assailed from in
front, behind or above,
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there is absolutely no retreat,
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nor is there room for
those attacked to fight.
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The pathway is hung midway
above the bottom of the gorge,
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where torrents of
water rage of the rocks.
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It was into this terrible
defile that the soldiers
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of the papal legate now marched.
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They advanced as best they
could along the narrow ledge,
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they were now nearing the Pra.
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It seemed impossible for
their prey to escape them,
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but God was
watching over His people.
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As the enemy soldiers
advanced along the narrow path,
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a white cloud, no
bigger than a man's hand,
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unobserved by the
invaders, but keenly watched
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by the Waldenses,
was seen to gather
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on the mountain summit.
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The cloud grew
rapidly bigger and darker.
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It came rolling down the
mountainside, wave after wave,
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like an ocean
tumbling out of heaven,
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a sea of murky vapor.
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It fell right into the
chasm in which the papal army
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was situated,
sealing it up and filling it
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from top to
bottom with a thick fog.
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In a moment, the
host were in night,
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they were bewildered,
stupefied, and could see
00:11:06.70\00:11:10.16
neither before, or
behind, could neither advance
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nor retreat, they
halted in a state of terror.
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The Waldenses interpreted
this as interposition
00:11:21.12\00:11:24.94
of providence in their behalf.
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The power to repel the
invader had been given them.
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They tore out huge
stones and rocks, and sent them
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thundering down into the ravine.
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The papal soldiers were
crushed where they stood,
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nor was this all, some of
the Waldenses boldly entered
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the chasm, sword in hand,
and attacked them in front.
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Consternation
seized the Piedmont's host,
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panic impelled them
to flee, but their effort
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to escape was more fatal
than the sword of the Vaudois,
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or the rocks, that swift
as arrow, came bounding down
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the mountain.
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They jostled one another,
they threw each other down
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in the struggle, some
were trodden to death,
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others rolled over
the precipice, and were
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crushed on the rocks below,
or drowned in the torrent.
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So perished,
miserably, the enemies of God.
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It was said that
there were 3 missionaries
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that traversed the south of
Europe during the middle ages:
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the troubadour, the barb, and
the mightiest of all, the Bible.
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The troubadours must
have been a colorful sight
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as they
approached a medieval castle.
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Foremost in their minds was to
the burden present God's truth
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as it is written
in His holy word.
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As a troubadour entered through
the castle gate with his lute,
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the people anxiously
gathered to hear any news
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of the outside world,
and to hear the minstrel
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play and sing for
their entertainment.
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The common minstrels
sang the provincial love songs
00:14:17.08\00:14:19.72
of the period,
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but the Waldensian missionaries
sang portions of songs
00:14:21.60\00:14:24.58
which taught
virtue, and hatred a vice.
00:14:24.61\00:14:28.10
As the people listened,
some were moved to hear more
00:14:28.68\00:14:32.02
from the singing evangelist.
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In this way the Waldensian
minstrels taught the people
00:14:34.61\00:14:37.72
that God was the
only object of worship,
00:14:37.75\00:14:41.34
the Bible, the
only rule of faith,
00:14:41.90\00:14:45.03
and Christ, the
only means of salvation.
00:14:45.07\00:14:48.67
From castle to castle,
these dedicated servants
00:14:49.21\00:14:52.37
of Christ witnessed by
singing their songs and teaching
00:14:52.41\00:14:56.42
the precious truths
found in God's word.
00:14:56.45\00:15:00.43
The Waldenses were among the
first of the people of Europe
00:15:03.04\00:15:06.37
to obtain a translation
of the Holy Scriptures.
00:15:06.40\00:15:10.37
Hundreds of years
before the reformation,
00:15:11.18\00:15:13.56
they possessed manuscripts
of the Bible in their
00:15:13.87\00:15:16.30
native tongue.
00:15:16.33\00:15:18.13
They had maintained
the apostolic faith,
00:15:18.40\00:15:21.92
pure and unadulterated.
00:15:21.95\00:15:24.33
This rendered them the
special objects of hatred
00:15:24.47\00:15:27.59
and the persecution.
00:15:27.62\00:15:29.84
They declared the church
of Rome to be the apostate
00:15:30.99\00:15:34.02
Babylon of the Apocalypse,
and at the peril of their lives
00:15:34.06\00:15:38.62
they stood up to
resist her corruptions.
00:15:38.65\00:15:41.61
As a result of long,
continued persecution,
00:15:42.39\00:15:45.53
some compromised their faith,
00:15:45.56\00:15:48.39
little by little yielding
its distinctive principles.
00:15:48.43\00:15:52.27
Yet, other held fast the truth.
00:15:52.30\00:15:55.08
Through ages of darkness
and apostasy, there were always
00:15:55.71\00:15:59.61
Waldenses who denied
the supremacy of Rome,
00:15:59.64\00:16:03.13
who rejected image
worship as idolatry,
00:16:03.17\00:16:06.31
and who kept the
true Bible Sabbath.
00:16:06.35\00:16:09.46
Under the fiercest
tempest of opposition
00:16:09.61\00:16:12.40
they maintained their faith.
00:16:12.43\00:16:14.80
Though gashed by
the Savoyard spear,
00:16:15.47\00:16:18.20
and scorched by
the Romish faggot,
00:16:18.23\00:16:20.89
the Waldenses stood
unflinchingly for God's word,
00:16:20.93\00:16:23.55
and His honor.
00:16:23.58\00:16:25.54
They were accused by
their enemies of every crime
00:16:25.58\00:16:28.54
and base practice -
they were called sorcerers,
00:16:28.58\00:16:31.38
and charged with
worshipping Lucifer in the form
00:16:31.41\00:16:34.18
of a black cat.
00:16:34.21\00:16:36.43
The children of these
Vaudois were always born,
00:16:36.47\00:16:38.97
it was said, with hairy throats,
00:16:39.00\00:16:41.64
with 4 rows of black
teeth and with single eye
00:16:41.68\00:16:45.13
in the middle of their forehead.
00:16:45.16\00:16:47.51
On one occasion the
Duke of Savoy visited
00:16:49.53\00:16:52.87
his Waldensian subjects
after a time of persecution
00:16:52.91\00:16:56.71
and asked to see
those monstrous children,
00:16:56.74\00:17:00.15
but was convinced of
the deceptive calumny
00:17:00.19\00:17:03.53
when beautiful, rosy cheeked
children, with pearly teeth,
00:17:03.57\00:17:07.47
and 2 eyes, were
brought before him.
00:17:07.50\00:17:11.08
Long before the
German Reformation,
00:17:13.96\00:17:16.63
the Waldenses were
an evangelistic people,
00:17:16.67\00:17:19.59
loving the Bible
above all things,
00:17:19.62\00:17:22.10
making translation of
it into the common tongue,
00:17:22.14\00:17:25.58
spreading it abroad
in Bohemia, in Germany,
00:17:25.61\00:17:29.10
in France and in Italy.
00:17:29.13\00:17:31.66
The missionary zeal of
the Waldenses and their great
00:17:32.23\00:17:34.96
success in
spreading Bible truths
00:17:34.99\00:17:37.75
resulted in the terrible
persecutions which they endured,
00:17:37.79\00:17:41.93
yet the blood of these
martyrs watered the seeds
00:17:41.96\00:17:45.19
of the gospel.
00:17:45.22\00:17:47.12
From earliest
childhood the Waldensian youth
00:17:49.82\00:17:52.14
were instructed in
the scriptures and taught
00:17:52.18\00:17:55.40
to sacredly regard the
claims of the law of God.
00:17:55.43\00:17:58.62
The children memorized
whole chapters of the Bible
00:17:59.39\00:18:02.39
so that whatever might
befall the written copies
00:18:02.43\00:18:05.96
of the Bible, large
portions of it might be secure
00:18:05.99\00:18:09.63
in the memories of
their young men and maidens.
00:18:09.67\00:18:13.28
In the darkness of
night, at secret gatherings
00:18:15.00\00:18:18.18
in their homes, they
went barefoot, or with shoes
00:18:18.22\00:18:21.33
bound in rags, that they
might not be heard in passing.
00:18:21.37\00:18:25.30
It was their custom to
listen to the gospels recited
00:18:26.21\00:18:29.07
in turn by the young, each
one repeating a certain portion.
00:18:29.11\00:18:34.26
"And to the woman were
given 2 wings of a great eagle"
00:18:35.06\00:18:39.19
"as she might fly into
the wilderness, into a place"
00:18:39.22\00:18:43.32
"where she is
nourished for a time, a times,"
00:18:43.35\00:18:46.19
"and half a time, from
the face of the serpent. "
00:18:46.22\00:18:49.03
"And the dragon was
wroth with the woman"
00:18:49.06\00:18:51.77
"and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed,"
00:18:51.81\00:18:55.30
"which keep the
commandments of God,"
00:18:55.33\00:18:58.23
"and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ. "
00:18:58.26\00:19:01.13
Every barb, or pastor, learned
a manual trade or profession,
00:19:05.18\00:19:10.21
all knew how to
cultivate the fields and care
00:19:10.24\00:19:12.57
for the flocks and herds.
00:19:12.60\00:19:14.63
Before the
invention of printing,
00:19:15.50\00:19:17.71
they copied large
portions of the Scriptures
00:19:17.75\00:19:20.36
for use by their scholars,
to whom they also taught
00:19:20.40\00:19:23.82
the languages, and instructed
them in piety and good works.
00:19:23.86\00:19:28.88
Each was required to
memorize the books of Matthew
00:19:29.23\00:19:32.87
and John, but many of
them memorized the entire
00:19:32.90\00:19:36.51
New Testament,
and much of the Old.
00:19:36.54\00:19:39.88
They placed it in their
minds and in their hearts
00:19:40.16\00:19:42.89
to share with those
with whom they would come
00:19:42.93\00:19:45.59
in contact as they went out
on their missionary journeys
00:19:45.63\00:19:49.39
for the Lord, Jesus Christ.
00:19:49.42\00:19:52.16
The 16th century dawned as the
Waldenses were still recovering
00:19:55.67\00:19:59.90
from the persecutions
led out by generals La Palud
00:19:59.93\00:20:03.08
and Cataneo.
00:20:03.11\00:20:04.90
The Duke of Savoy had promised
them security in their valleys,
00:20:04.94\00:20:09.08
but it was not all
together in his power
00:20:09.11\00:20:11.38
to make his promise good.
00:20:11.41\00:20:13.64
He could take care that
such armies of crusaders,
00:20:13.82\00:20:17.26
as that which mustered
under the standard of Cataneo,
00:20:17.29\00:20:20.66
should not invade their valleys,
but he could not guard them
00:20:20.70\00:20:24.45
from the secret
conspiracies of the priesthood.
00:20:24.48\00:20:27.55
In the absence of
the duke's armed solider,
00:20:27.93\00:20:30.58
the inquisitors and priests
of Rome, acting as missionaries,
00:20:31.22\00:20:35.94
seduced the people
with their sophistries
00:20:35.97\00:20:38.34
and kidnapped others, carrying
them off to the holy office.
00:20:38.38\00:20:42.88
To these annoyances was
added the yet greater evil
00:20:44.34\00:20:47.18
of a decaying piety.
00:20:47.21\00:20:49.63
A desire for repose
made many conform outwardly
00:20:49.84\00:20:53.16
to the Romish church.
00:20:53.19\00:20:55.17
In order to be shielded
from all interruption in their
00:20:55.43\00:20:58.86
journeys on business,
they obtained from the priests
00:20:58.89\00:21:02.25
who were settled in the valleys,
certificates or testimonials
00:21:02.29\00:21:06.09
of their being papists.
00:21:06.12\00:21:07.94
To obtain this credential
it was necessary to attend
00:21:08.28\00:21:11.64
the Romish chapel, to
confess, to go to mass,
00:21:11.67\00:21:15.75
and to have their children
baptized by the priests.
00:21:15.79\00:21:19.09
At the same time, they continued
to attend the preaching
00:21:19.82\00:21:22.53
of the Vaudois pastors,
and to submit themselves
00:21:22.56\00:21:26.62
to their censures.
00:21:26.65\00:21:28.81
Beyond all question, the
men who practiced these deciets,
00:21:28.85\00:21:33.20
and the church
that tolerated them
00:21:33.23\00:21:35.48
had greatly declined.
00:21:35.51\00:21:37.92
That old vine
seemed to be dying.
00:21:37.96\00:21:41.22
A little while, and it
would disappear from off
00:21:41.57\00:21:44.68
those mountains, which
had had so long covered
00:21:44.71\00:21:47.79
with the shadow of its bows.
00:21:47.82\00:21:50.98
At this very time,
the Protestant Reformation
00:22:00.50\00:22:02.88
was breaking forth over Europe.
00:22:02.91\00:22:05.17
The Waldenses, eager
to know to what extent
00:22:05.41\00:22:08.02
the yoke of Rome had
been cast off by the nations
00:22:08.06\00:22:11.32
of Europe, sent some of
their pastors to Switzerland
00:22:11.35\00:22:14.58
and Germany, on a
mission of enquiry.
00:22:14.61\00:22:17.59
They desired to make known
their beliefs and practices,
00:22:18.39\00:22:21.61
and see how they
compared to what these new
00:22:21.90\00:22:24.26
reformers believed.
00:22:24.29\00:22:26.27
A synod was called forth
and representatives from various
00:22:30.75\00:22:35.02
parts of Europe came
to meet with the Waldenses
00:22:35.05\00:22:37.36
of Italy and France.
00:22:37.39\00:22:39.65
The representatives
assembled together
00:22:40.01\00:22:42.04
on the 12th of October
1532, at the town of Chanforan
00:22:42.08\00:22:47.44
in the heart of the
Valley of Angrongna.
00:22:47.65\00:22:50.61
At the conclusion of
this assembly the findings
00:22:52.00\00:22:54.96
were embodied in a
short confession of faith
00:22:55.00\00:22:57.93
in which the Waldenses
and the Reformers agreed upon:
00:22:58.36\00:23:02.11
The moral inability of man.
00:23:02.35\00:23:04.65
Election to eternal life.
00:23:05.04\00:23:07.27
The will of God, as
made known in the Bible.
00:23:07.31\00:23:10.34
The only rule of duty.
00:23:10.74\00:23:12.75
And the doctrine
of 2 sacraments only:
00:23:12.85\00:23:15.98
baptism and the Lord's supper.
00:23:16.01\00:23:19.40
In their eagerness and
joy to join with others
00:23:20.20\00:23:23.33
who opposed the errors of Rome
and cherished the word of God,
00:23:23.37\00:23:27.99
the Waldenses gave up the last
vestiges of the Bible Sabbath
00:23:28.02\00:23:32.61
for the Sunday
worship of the Reformers.
00:23:32.64\00:23:35.46
The remnant Sabbath keepers
still among them were silenced,
00:23:35.92\00:23:40.50
and the majority of the
Waldenses joined the Reformers
00:23:40.53\00:23:43.96
to become part of a
greater movement to protest
00:23:44.36\00:23:46.85
against papal oppression.
00:23:46.88\00:23:49.46
The lamp which had been
on the point of expiring
00:23:51.78\00:23:54.80
began to burn with
its former brightness.
00:23:54.83\00:23:57.87
The spirit of the
Waldenses revived,
00:23:58.17\00:24:01.12
they no longer practiced those
dissimulations and cowardly
00:24:01.16\00:24:04.92
concealments to
which they had had recourse
00:24:04.95\00:24:07.45
to avoid persecution.
00:24:07.48\00:24:09.88
They no longer feared
to confess their faith.
00:24:10.00\00:24:13.70
From here on they
were never seen at mass,
00:24:13.74\00:24:17.41
or in the popish churches.
00:24:17.44\00:24:19.52
They refused to
recognize the priests of Rome
00:24:19.56\00:24:21.94
as ministers of Christ,
and under no circumstances
00:24:21.98\00:24:25.74
would they receive any
spiritual benefit or service
00:24:25.78\00:24:29.51
at their hands.
00:24:29.54\00:24:31.53
Into the hands of the
Reformers the Waldenses placed
00:24:33.83\00:24:36.53
a most appropriate and noble
gift, that book - the Bible,
00:24:36.57\00:24:42.94
which their fathers had
preserved with their blood,
00:24:42.97\00:24:46.05
which their barbs had
laboriously transcribed
00:24:46.08\00:24:49.25
and circulated.
00:24:49.28\00:24:51.25
They now translated
into the French language
00:24:51.46\00:24:53.92
and printed at their
own expense for the churches
00:24:53.96\00:24:57.43
of the Reformation.
00:24:57.46\00:24:59.71
Strengthened by the fellowship
of their Protestant brethren,
00:25:00.79\00:25:04.54
the Waldenses
rebuilt their churches
00:25:04.57\00:25:07.48
and reinstituted
worship services.
00:25:07.51\00:25:10.39
Pastors were
multiplied and crowds flocked
00:25:10.60\00:25:13.42
to their preaching,
00:25:13.45\00:25:14.79
to drink of these living
waters again, flowing freely,
00:25:15.07\00:25:19.34
in their land.
00:25:19.37\00:25:22.40