والدوسیان

Also known as Waldenses, Vallenses, Vaudois, waldensians, waldenses, poor men of Lyon

The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the Poor of Lyon in the late 12th century, the movement spread to the Cottian Alps in what is today France and Italy. The founding of the Waldensians is attributed to Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who gave away his property around 1173, preaching apostolic poverty as the way to perfection.

AI overview

The Waldensians were a Christian movement that started in the late 12th century when a wealthy merchant named Peter Waldo gave away his possessions and began preaching a life of poverty modeled on the apostles. The movement matters because it represents one of the earliest organized challenges to the established Church before the Protestant Reformation, spreading from France into the Alps and influencing how Christians understood religious devotion and church practice.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Religion.image: Waldenser-Wappen.png
Religion.caption: Waldensian symbol Lux lucet in tenebris ("A light shines in the darkness")
Religion.main_classification: Proto-Protestant
Religion.orientation: Reformed
Religion.theology: Theology of Peter Waldo and other Waldensian theologians, nowadays also that of John Calvin and other Reformed theologians
Religion.founder: Peter Waldo
Religion.founded_date: c. 1173
Religion.founded_place: Lyon, Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles in the Holy Roman Empire (now France)
Religion.separated_from: Catholic Church
Religion.area: Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Argentina, United States, Uruguay, and elsewhere