P-10 Faith and Simplicity of Life and Praxis of Ancient Apostolic People: Early Inhabitants of Alpes Cottiae
Presenter Status
James White Library and Department of Architecture
Location
Buller Hallway
Start Date
31-10-2014 1:30 PM
End Date
31-10-2014 3:00 PM
Presentation Abstract
There is a place of majestic grandeur in the northern Alps of Italy, once known as Alpae Cottiae, which few travelers to Europe discover. Nestled in these Alps lay the Piedmont valleys, home of Waldensian Christians. For a thousand years these witnesses to the truth found refuge in seclusion and obscurity in these dense alpine valleys. The name “Waldenses” is derived from Vallis Densa, meaning a dreary or dark, deep valley. These ancient peoples sacrificed all worldly honor and material goods to dwell in peace, practicing the pure faith of the Apostles with a patience and constancy that was an honor to their Creator and Redeemer. History relates that these ancient believers occupied these valleys from the ancient times to avoid the persecution inflicted on them by the Romans. The Scriptures were central to the Waldensians’ lives of faith. Men, women, and children committed large passages of Scripture to memory. They were not content to keep the truth found in Scripture to themselves. Acting as troubadours, Physicians, and merchants they went as missionaries to many parts of the world far removed from their native valleys. Wherever they found hearts open to the gospel they shared their faith at the risk of persecution and death notwithstanding the crusades against them, and the inhumane butchery to which they were subjected. They were hunted to death: yet their blood watered the seeds of the Reformation.
P-10 Faith and Simplicity of Life and Praxis of Ancient Apostolic People: Early Inhabitants of Alpes Cottiae
Buller Hallway
There is a place of majestic grandeur in the northern Alps of Italy, once known as Alpae Cottiae, which few travelers to Europe discover. Nestled in these Alps lay the Piedmont valleys, home of Waldensian Christians. For a thousand years these witnesses to the truth found refuge in seclusion and obscurity in these dense alpine valleys. The name “Waldenses” is derived from Vallis Densa, meaning a dreary or dark, deep valley. These ancient peoples sacrificed all worldly honor and material goods to dwell in peace, practicing the pure faith of the Apostles with a patience and constancy that was an honor to their Creator and Redeemer. History relates that these ancient believers occupied these valleys from the ancient times to avoid the persecution inflicted on them by the Romans. The Scriptures were central to the Waldensians’ lives of faith. Men, women, and children committed large passages of Scripture to memory. They were not content to keep the truth found in Scripture to themselves. Acting as troubadours, Physicians, and merchants they went as missionaries to many parts of the world far removed from their native valleys. Wherever they found hearts open to the gospel they shared their faith at the risk of persecution and death notwithstanding the crusades against them, and the inhumane butchery to which they were subjected. They were hunted to death: yet their blood watered the seeds of the Reformation.