Valdese, NC: The Waldensian Stronghold

Way back in the middle ages – 1174 to be exact – a French businessman from Lyons caught the radical gist of Jesus’ teachings in the gospels and committed himself to a life of voluntary poverty and itinerant preaching. His name was Valdes. He renounced his previous business practices, threw all his money into the street, and started a soup kitchen during the famine of 1176. He traveled the countryside preaching the gospel of Jesus and eventually creating a rift with the dominant Catholic Church.

Valdes inspired other wandering preachers including Peter Waldo, who established the Poor Men of Lyons sect that preached apostolic poverty as the way to perfection. They traveled to Rome around 1177 and received the blessing of Pope Alexander III, who at the same time forbade their preaching without authorization from local clergy. The Waldensias (as they became known) of course disobeyed the papal edict, and were formally declared heretics by Pope Lucius III in 1184 and by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.

More than 80 Waldensians were burned at the stake as heretics in Strasbourg in 1211, an act that signaled the beginning of centuries of persecution that very nearly destroyed the pious sect. The sect was granted refuge in Piedmont by the Count of Savoy, even though the House of Savoy remained staunchly Catholic. Persecutions continued through the 1400s until the only refuge left was in the Cottian Alps southwest of Turin. When news of the Protestant Reformation reached the Waldensians, the Tavola Valdese decided to seek fellowship with the Protestants. Their acceptance by German and Swiss Protestants put them firmly in the Calvinist camp rather than on a fringe of Catholicism, even though Calvin’s beliefs did not follow Peter Waldo’s original sectarian beliefs. Later Waldensians aligned with the Presbyterian Church.

While finally granted freedom of worship after the French Revolution, a group of Waldensians emigrated to North Carolina in the late-1800s to establish the town of Valdese in the western piedmont region. And there the Waldensians remain to this day, with a rich history, a great winery, and even an outdoor drama to depict their flight from persecution. They have a Waldensian Museum and a Waldensian Trail of Faith open to visitors, as is the Waldensian Heritage Winery which offers tours and wine-tastings to small groups during operating hours all year long.

There is a Waldensian Festival held every August, where a Bocce Ball tournament is held on the Waldensian packed-clay Bocce Court, and the Trail of Faith and Visitor’s Center offer historic information. The outdoor drama, “From This Day Forward” is staged every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. during July and August every year at the outdoor amphitheater.

Check out some of the links below for further detailed information, and be sure to include a visit to Valdese on your North Carolina travel itinerary this year!

Links:

Visit Valdese: Tourism Site

Waldensian Heritage Wines

Anabaptist Network: The Waldensians

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