Peter Waldo

Peter Waldo (; also Valdo, Valdes, Waldes; , de Vaux; ; c. 1140 – c. 1205) was a French merchant and later preacher who founded Waldensianism (then called the "Poor of Lyon"), a mendicant ascetic sect which separated from the Roman Catholic Church.

The tradition that his first name was "Peter" can only be traced back to the fourteenth century. This has caused some historians, such as Jana Schulman, to see it as likely a later invention. He is considered a Proto-Protestant.

Relationship with Waldenses

Peter Waldo is regarded by many historians, including Jana Schulman, as having founded the Waldensians sometime between 1170 and 1177.

Monastier also says that Eberard de Béthune, writing in 1210 (although Monastier says 1160), claimed that the name Vaudois meant "valley dwellers" or those who "dwell in a vale of sorrow and tears", and was in use before Peter Waldo.

A claim persisted until the 19th century that Waldo had not begun any new movement, but that the Waldensian sect had arisen from a pure Christianity established by the Apostles in the Alps soon after Jesus' ascension, and that Waldo was merely perpetuating this pure faith. In 1173 in pursuit of purity, he embraced poverty after hearing an itinerant singer perform a song about Saint Alexius. Alexius had given up a large inheritance and a beautiful bride in order to live in poverty like Jesus.

Inspired by his example Waldo began to attract followers and they grew into a community of believers. By 1170 Waldo had gathered a large number of followers, referred to as the Poor of Lyons, the Poor of Lombardy, or the Poor of God. They evangelized their teaching while traveling as peddlers. Often referred to as the Waldensians (or Waldenses), they were distinct from the Albigensians or Cathari. The Waldensian movement was characterized from the beginning by lay preaching, voluntary poverty, and strict adherence to the Bible.

In January 1179, Waldo and one of his disciples went to Rome, where they were welcomed by Pope Alexander III and the Roman Curia. They had to explain their faith before a panel of three clergymen, including issues which were then debated within the Church, such as the universal priesthood, the gospel in the vulgate or local language, and the issue of voluntary poverty. The results of the meeting were inconclusive. The pope affirmed the Waldensians' vow of poverty, but forbade them to continue preaching due to their status as laypeople.

Driven away from Lyon, Waldo and his followers settled in the high valleys of Piedmont, and in France, in the Luberon, as they continued in their pursuit of Christianity based on the New Testament. Finally, Waldo was excommunicated by Pope Lucius III during the synod held at Verona in 1184. The doctrine of the Poor of Lyons was again condemned by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, when they mentioned the group by name for the first time, and declared its principles to be heresy. Fearing suppression from the Church, Waldo's followers fled to the mountainous regions of northern Italy in the Waldensian Evangelical Church.