SKETCHES OF CHURCH HISTORY
THE WALDENSES
"Thus writes the inquisitor concerning the Waldenses of Bohemia.
The first error of the Waldenses, says he, is, that they affirm the church of Rome is not the Church of Jesus Christ, but an assembly of ungodly men, and that she has ceased being the true church, from the time pope Sylvester, at which time the poison of temporal advantages was cast into the church – That all vices and sins reign in that church, and that they alone live righteously – That they are the true church of Christ, and that the church of Rome is whore mentioned in the Revelation. They despise and reject all the ordinances and statutes of the church, as being too many and very burdensome, They insist that the pope is the head and leader of all error – That the prelates are the scribes and seemingly religious Pharisees – That the popes and their bishops, on account of the wars they foment, are murderers – That our obedience is due to God alone, and not to prelates, which they found on Acts 4:9 - That none in the church ought to be greater than their brethren, according to Matt. 20:25. – That no man ought to kneel to a priest, because the angel said to John "See thou do it not" – that tithes ought not to be given to priests, because there was no use of them in the primitive Church – That the clergy ought not to enjoy any temporal possessions, because it was said in the law, "The tribe of Levi shall have no inheritance with the children of Israel, the sacrifices being their portion" – That it is wrong to endow and found churches and monasteries, and that nothing aught to be bequeathed to churches by way of legacy. They condemn the clergy for their idleness, saying they ought to work with their hands as the apostles did. They reject all the titles of prelates, as pope, bishop, &c. They affirm that no man ought to be forcibly compelled in matters of faith. They condemn all ecclesiastical offices, and the privileges and immunities of the church, and all persons and things belonging to it, such as councils and synods, parochial rights &c. declaring that the observances of the religious are nothing else than pharisaical traditions.
Their third class of errors is as follows. They contemn all approved ecclesiastical customs which they do not read of in the gospel, such as the observation of Candle-mas, Palm-Sunday, the reconciliation of penitents, and the adoration of the cross on Good-Friday. They despise the feast of Easter, and all other festivals of Christ and the saints, and say that one day is as good as another, working upon holy-days, where they can do it without being taken notice of. They disregard the church fasts, alleging Isa.58: "Is this the fast that I have chosen?" They deride and mock at all dedications, consecrations, and benedictions of candles, ashes, palm-branches, oil fire, wax candles, Agnus Del's, churching of Rome, strangers, holy places and persons, vestments, salt and water. They look upon the church built of stone to be no better than a common barn, neither do they believe that God dwells there, quoting Acts 7:48: "God doth not dwell in temples made with hands" – and that prayers offered up in them are of no more efficacy than those which we offer up in our closets, according to Matt.6:6. "But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet." They set no value on the dedication of churches, and call the ornaments of the altar "the sin of the church," saying that it would be much better to clothe the poor than to decorate walls. Of the altar they say, that it is wastefulness to let so much cloth lie rotting upon stones; and that Christ never gave to His disciples vests, or rockets, or mitres. They celebrate the eucharist in their household cups, and say that the corporal, or cloth on which the the host is laid, is no holier than the cloth of their breeches. Concerning lights used in the church, they say that God, who is the true light, stands in no need of light, and that it can have no further use than to hinder the priests from stumbling in the dark. They reject all censings; estimating holy water no better than common water. The images and pictures in the church they pronounce to be idolatrous. They mock at the singing [chanting] in churches, saying that the efficacy is in the words and not in the music. They deride the cries of the laymen, and reject all festival processions, as those of Easter, as well as mournful processions at Rogation-week and at funerals. They laugh at the custom of bringing sick persons on a bench before the altar. They dissuade people from going on a pilgrimage to Rome, and other places beyond sea, tho they themselves pretend to go on pilgrimage, whereas it is only with a design to visit their bishops who live in Lombardy. They express no value for the Lord's sepulcher, nor for those of the saints, and condemn the burying in churches, which they found on Malt. 23:29: "Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, because ye build the tombs" and would prefer burying in the field to the church-yard, were they not afraid of the church. They maintain that the offices for the dead, masses for the deceased, offerings, funeral pomps, last wills, legacies, visiting graves, the reading of vigils, anniversary masses, and similar suffrages are of no avail to departed souls. They condemn watching with the dead by night, because of the folly and wickedness which are practiced on those occasions.
They hold all these errors because they deny purgatory, saying that there are only two ways, the one of the elect to heaven, the other of the damned to hell, according to Eccl. ll:3. "Which way soever the tree falleth there it must lie." They contend that a good man stands in no need of intercessions [of the priest], and that they cannot profit those that are wicked – That all sins are mortal, and none of them venial – That once praying in the words of the Lord's prayer is of more efficacy than the ringing of ten bells, yea, than the mass itself. They think that all swearing is sinful, because Christ says, Malt. 5:34, "Swear not at all, but let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay." They are against punishing malefactors with death, which they found on Rom.12:19. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay it, saith the Lord." – Thus far the testimony of this inquisitor.
Claudius Seisselius, was archbishop of Turin, towards the close of the fifteenth century, a little before the time of the reformation, and wrote a treatise against the Waldenses. He reports them saying, "The apostolic authority, the faith of Peter, which Christ said should not fail the catholic [that is, the true Church universal] church, and with which church He promises to abide forever, is to be found amongst us who walk after the example of the apostles, and according to our weak measure, observe the commands and ordinances they have given us. We are those of whom the apostle Paul speaks in his Epistle to the Corinthians, "Brethren consider your calling, that ye are not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble but God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise; and the weak things of this world to confound the things that are mighty; and the base things of this world, and things that are despised, yea, and the things that are not, to bring to nought the things that are." And the same apostle tells us that he was sent to preach the gospel, not in the mightiness of man's wisdom, but in plainness and simplicity; alleging to this purpose what the Lord saith elsewhere, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nought the prudence of the prudent."
Such is the description given us, by the archbishop of Turin, of the Waldenses of Piedmont, before Luther was born, or Calvin thought of, or the term of reformation even mentioned. And yet the Catholics have had the effrontery to ask us, "Where was your religion before Luther?" But let us further attend to the account which he gives us of the articles of their faith. On this particular he thus writes.
"They receive only what is written in the Old and New Testaments. They say that the popes of Rome and other priests have corrupted the Scriptures by their doctrines and glosses – that they owe neither tithes nor first-fruits to the clergy – that the consecration of churches, indulgences, and similar benedictions, are the inventions of false priests. * * They say that we ought not to have any kind of [set form] prayer, except it appear that it was composed by some certain [inspired) author, and approved of God. Their barbs have often preached this doctrine to abolish the service of the glorious Virgin and other saints. They do not think that Christians aught to say the angelical salutation to the mother of God, alleging that it has not the form of a prayer, but a salutation: but that they do only that they may rob the Virgin of this service, saying, that it is not lawful to worship or serve her any more than the rest of the saints. They affirm the blessings of the priests are of no virtue at all. Did not Christ bless the bread in the desert? When the apostles sat down to eat bread, they blessed what was set upon the table. They say there is no need of holy water in the churches, because neither Christ nor His apostles either made it or commanded it: as if we ought to say or do nothing but what we read was done by them. * *"
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