YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

THE

WALDENSIAN CHURCH

AND

ITS MISSIONS IN ITALY.

REVISED IN 1879.

THE WALDENSIAN MISSIONS.
By the Rev. Dr. GUTHRIE.

REVISED 1879.

The country of the Waldenses is small — about twenty miles in length,
by some eighteen broad ; it is mountainous, and encloses three principal
valleys — byname, Lucerna, San Martino, and Perosa — their streams form
ing some of the ramifications which ultimately gather themselves into the
great river of Italy, the Po. The population is about 23,000 souls; and,
taking an average of the entire territory, the Protestant inhabitants out
number the Romanists in the proportion of seven to one. These valleys,
though they do not admit of comparison with the grand passes of the high
Alps, have a peculiar beauty of their own. Their streams are clear as
¦ crystal, and we have not seen in Switzerland umbrageous foliage to com
pare with that which clothes the mountain slopes of Piedmont.
Their Church has two special claims on our interest and sympathy —
due, first, to her past history, and secondly, her present position. She
claims to be the oldest Evangelical Church in Europe; and for proof of
this, points to the pages of history and her own venerable manuscripts.
The ancient Vaudois copy of the New Testament proves that in these
galleys a vernacular version of the Word of God was circulating long
: before it had been translated into our own or any other tongue. The
standards of our churches seem of yesterday when placed alongside of the
yellow parchments in the libraries of Geneva and Cambridge, veritable
manuscripts in the Waldensian dialect. Collected in the times of perse
cution, and handed down among these people from age to age, they set
_forth the truth of God. They prove that long before the fourteenth cen
tury a people existed there separate from Rome, and familiar with the
Bible. This conclusion is borne out by ancient historians, and even by
the Papists themselves. " With the dawn of history," writes Sir James
Mackintosh, " we discover some simple Christians in the valleys of the
Alps, where they still exist, under the ancient name of Vaudois, who, by
the light of the New Testament, saw the extraordinary contrast between

the purity of primitive times, and the vices of the gorgeous and imperial
hierarchy which surrounded them."
As in a dark night at sea you can trace the direction of your landing-
place by the lights along the winding shore, so the hints which appear
here and there of the existence during the dark ages of a " peculiar peo
ple " in the Cottian Alps, lead to the conviction that the faith of the
Waldenses has descended from primitive times. In the ninth century,
Claude, Bishop of Turin, a reformer within the Church of Rome, was
accused of encouraging persons " in the neighborhood of his diocese " in
their rejection of image worship, and separation from " Catholic unity."
In the fourth century, Vigilantius, the opponent of ecclesiastical corrup
tion, took refuge in the locality of the Waldenses, because the people
there held sentiments similar to his own. Towards the end of the second
century the Gospel had penetrated from Italy into Gaul; and no doubt
its early missionaries scattered some of the seed of the Kingdom as they
passed across the Alps. Among those secluded valleys it grew; and,
sheltered by the encircling mountains, was preserved through long cen
turies in native vigor.
The sufferings of this venerable Church are written in blood. On our
way to La Tour, the little capital of the Waldensian valleys, when their
wooded mountains rose to view, it seemed as if we approached "conse
crated ground." If our patriotism should be kindled on the field of
Marathon, and our piety grow warmer amid the ruins of Iona, it were '
strange if one could visit this territory, "where almost every rock is a
monument, and every meadow witnessed executions, and every village has
its roll of martyrs," without a deeper reverence for the power of con
science, and an increased abhorrence of the Church of Rome.
The marks of a true church, said an old Waldensian writer, are " sim
ple conformity to the Sacred Word, a holy life, persecution, and the
Cross." The last is stamped on the Waldensian Church. In 1198 Otho
IV. commanded the Bishop of Turin to exterminate from his diocese the
" heretiques Vaudoise." During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
they suffered severely ; and from the beginning of the fifteenth to the
end of the eighteenth were exposed to assaults so fierce that their preser
vation is without a parallel. They recount thirty-six distinct persecutions
— some designed actually to exterminate them from the face of the earth.
In days like ours, when the faith of many waxes feeble, and laxity of doc
trine, combined with a false liberality, makes men tolerant of error it is
well to be reminded of those who valued the truth more than their lives
preferring the cross with a good conscience to peace with perjured faith'
The authors of these persecutions were ostensibly the Dukes of Savov
their own princes ; but the real authors were the Popes and their agents'
This poor and loyal people would probably have suffered no harm from
the court of Turin, but for the pressure ceaselessly brought to bear on it by

the, court of Rome. The choice the Papists gave them was, to use the
words of their cruel and bloody persecutors, "Death or the Mass!"
Interwoven with the story of their sufferings is that of their heroic
courage. The defences of Rora and Angrogna, and the Balsille, were
marvellous deeds of endurance and daring. The long single-barrelled
gun of Janavel is still preserved in the library of the little college at La
Tour. One of the professors had been showing us the ghastly plates in
Leger's History of the Persecutions, and it was startling to see the good
man's eye kindle and his cheek flush, when, turning from the book, he
snatched up the rusty matchlock, and told how the brave pastor of Rora
had shot down one ruffian' after another to save his wife and little ones
from their bloody cruelty. The Waldenses loved not war; but armed
troops were sent to exterminate them, and they fought in self-defence.
If ever the term were applicable, theirs was a Holy War.
In a territory where almost every spot is famous, let me invite the
reader to the Vale of Angrogna, the scene of some most stirring events.
Except at its upper extremity, the mountains are wooded to their summits,
bold masses of rock rising from out the foliage into splintered peaks
The lower portion has considerable patches of tilled ground. The
meadows are enamelled with the white sweet-scented Narcissus, gleaming
like pearls, on green velvet. Above, rise vineyards and little fields of rye
or maize, intersected by mulberry trees for the silk-worm; while the
dwellings of the pleasant proprietors, with their over-hanging roofs and
rude verandahs, rise amid the few acres they cultivate. As the valley
narrows, the path winds under cliffs, where Saponaria and the Rhododen
dron display their flowers, while moist nooks offer abundance of the
Alpine auricula, and deep blue Gentian flowers. One cannot imagine a
more delightful combination of wooded mountain and nestling hamlets
and craggy peaks, and, far beyond these, dazzling snows which rise over
all unto the deep blue sky.
" This," said our guide, proud of his forefathers, " is the site of Champ-
forans." To that famous Synod of the Waldensian Church, Earel came
across the Alps to greet this ancient branch of the Christian family, and
bring news of the Reformation to men who had kept their own lamp
burning through long dark ages.
At the head of the valley is another famous spot — the key of the pass.
Here, where one brave man could' repel a score, our guide, leaning over
the cliff, and pointing to a deep black pool, said, " That is Saclietti's
Pool." Why so called ? In 1488, at the instigation of Pope Innocent
VIII., soldiers were sent to invade this valley, and put all to the sword
who should refuse to go to Mass. The Waldensians withdrew into their
most inaccessible fastness. To a space surrounded on all sides save one
by inaccessible mountains, and called Pra del Tor, the terrified women,
little ones, and aged retired. The strong men remained below to defend

the pais. Some formed an ambush pothers, on the heights, stood ready
to hurl down huge stones on the assailants. The invaders approach ;
their jeers and insulting tones are heard; one voice above the rest that
of Sachetti, a noted captain, and man of colossal size, another Goliath,
who comes to defy the armies of the living God. The brave defenders
emerge from their hiding-places, and the battle begins. Soldier after
soldier drops — nor do the peasants yield an inch. Sachetti raves and
rages ; neither he nor his men perceiving the new power that comes
down the gorge — a dense mist, that speedily envelopes them. Now a
man may scarce discern his comrade ! Objects are confused ; dangers
magnified ; and on these slippery rocks the next step may be death. A
panic rises. The Waldenses, knowing the ground, press forward on the
retreating mass. Vast numbers perish. They fall headlong over the
rocks. Slipping his foot on a ledge that overhung the stream, Sachetti
loses his balance, and is precipitated into the rapid, which swept his
corpse into the boiling pool, that to this hour bears his dishonored name.
When here, we found a priest superintending some workmen who were
widening the path ! "Ah!" said our guide, "I don't like to see that;
had we to defend Angrogna again, the narrower the road the better."
Every visitor to La Tour must be struck by the picturesque rock which
rises beyond the little town. This is Castelluzzo. We look on it as on
the old tower in Paris, where the bell hung that signalled the massacre
of St. Bartholomew. These valleys have had many St. " Bartholomews",
and it was from Castelluzzo that, on April 27th, 1655, the signal was
given to execute the orders of Christina, regent of Savoy, who, acting for
her son, Charles Emmanuel II., and under her holy father, the Pope, sent
15,000 soldiers to massacre every Protestant the valleys contained !
" Children," says Leger, an eye-witness, " torn from their mothers'
breasts, were seized by the feet and dashed against the rocks or walls,
which were covered with their brains, while their tender bodies were cast
on the common heaps ; or one soldier seizing one limb of these innocent
creatures, and another taking hold of the other, would tear them asunder,
beat their mothers with them, and at last throw them into the fields.
The sick and aged, both men and women, were either burnt in their
houses, or literally cut in pieces ; or, stripped of their garments were
tied up like a ball, with their heads between their legs, and rolled over
rocks." Then the malice of Rome had full scope ; but such work would not
hide. The news spread like wildfire. The Swiss cantons, Great Britain
Holland, Germany, Denmark, joined in one loud remonstrance. Oliver
Cromwell, on hearing the news, proclaimed a fast through England and
Scotland, ordering a collection to be made for the suffering remnant
This yielded £30,000— a large sum in those days— of which £2000 was
given by Oliver himself. Cromwell did more. He despatched an envov

to the Duke, commanding him to express in terms of stern remonstrauce
the indignation of England. It was then Milton wrote these imperish
able lines : "On the late Massacke in Piedmont,
" Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones
Lie" scattered on the Alpine mountains cold;
Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old,
"When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones.
Forget not ; in thy book record their groans
Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold
Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that rolled
Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans
The vales redoubled to the hills, and they
To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow
O'er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway
The triple tyrant : that from these may grow
A hundredfold, who, having learned thy way
Early may fly the Babylonian woe."
The Church of the Waldenses has also passed through internal vicissi
tudes. Towards the end of the last century, and in the earlier portion of
the present, rationalism had affected some of the pastors— '-all having in
those days to cross the Alps to study theology. Ere long, however, and,
as we now perceive, in preparation by God for her mission in Italy, evan
gelical professors were raised up in Geneva and Lausanne, and a quickening
commenced in the valleys which Dr. Gilly, rector, of Norham, General
Beckwith, and others were honored to strengthen. Ever since the
Waldensians have continued to develop the fruits of internal vitality, so
that the stranger who visits them to-day will come away with feelings of
the deepest affection and respect.
The Waldensian pastor's work is severe, but his worldly recompense
very small. It comes chiefly from our own country — from part of the
funds raised under Cromwell, and from grants made by William and
Mary, and also by Queen Anne. Christians who spend perhaps £20 on
one sumptuous entertainment, should know that that sum is one-third of
the whole income (including house and garden) these pastors enjoy. It
may not be wrong to spend £20 on a dinner-party ; but should not those
who do, spare something for the Waldensian missions ?
These cannot be supported by the Waldenses, who are a poor people.
They will furnish agents to carry the Gospel throughout Italy; but they
can do little more. One sees in their little patches of land how poor they
are. Generally the windows are unglazed ; but the leaves of children's
" copy books," supplying the place of glass, prove how much these poor
mountaineers prize education. To see a truly primitive Waldensian
home, we ascended by an outside stair, and emerging from a dark narrow
passage found ourselves in a low-roofed room lighted by one small win-

dow. Here was the summer quarters of the family. In winter the house
hold migrate — as do half the families in the parish — to the cow-house
below, and there, while the snow for six or seven weary months lies many
feet deep around, they live beside their cattle, for the sahe of the warmth
the brutes give forth. Yet on a few shelves of this mean abode lay thirty
books, and among them translations of some of our well known English
authors. To find these worthies there was a pleasant surprise. But we
were among the God-fearing and intelligent Waldenses, whose motto is,
" Lux lucet in tenelris" " The light shineth in the darkness."
Their present hopeful position is, under God, a result of the political
changes of 1848 and 1859-61. In 1840, their king granted a free consti
tution, emancipating the Waldenses from all disabilities, and securing
them the free exercise of their worship throughout his kingdom.
Just then the Bible Society and other Christian agencies took advan
tage of the opening to introduce into Tuscany the Bible, a book hitherto
wholly unknown to the people. The breath of the Holy Spirit awakened a
deep interest in the Word of God, leading to the conversion of many from
darkness to light. It was read by thousands. But despotism returned
for a time to its old channels, and a vigorous persecution commenced
under the direction of the Church of Rome. The Madiai and hundreds
more were cruelly imprisoned, and for a few years there existed a reign
of terror. At length, in 1859, the Duke of Tuscany, Parma and Modeua,
were driven from their thrones, tbe result of a peaceful revolution, and,
shortly after, these States annexed themselves to Sardinia. Then followed
the annexation of Naples and a portion of the Papal States, and, iu 18G1,
the King of Sardinia became King of Italy. One more act was needed to
complete this wondrous drama, and it was accomplished in 1870, when
Papal Rome fell before the Italian arms, and liberated Rome became once
more the capital of Italy and the centre of evangelization.
Let us turn for a moment to the first meeting of the Waldensian Synod
after this event. " It was a moment of deep emotion when the President
reminded the Synod that what they had so long prayed for had at length
been realized ; and then, on the invitation of the President, that assembly
rose instantly as one man, and lifted their hearts and voices to God 
not to call down vengeance on their enemies, but to give thanks to the
Lord of Hosts for having, by a series of marvellous providences, led them
down to the very gates of the Vatican to publish the Gospel of peace."
To give some idea of the progress made in the work of evano-elization
by the Waldenses since their emancipation, it may be stated that there
are now 105 places where the Gospel is preached, namely, 39 churches
19 mission stations, and 47 towns and villages visited more or less regu
larly by the evangelists. Of the 100 men employed as laborers by the
Waldensian Commission, it is interesting to know that 4 are colporteurs
14 combine the work of schoolmasters and evangelists, 51 are simpW

schoolmasters, and the remaining 31 are thoroughly trained and ordained
pastors of congregations. It will thus be seen that attention is paid to
simple evangelizing as well as to the building up of congregations.
The number of those who attend public worship is about 4,000, and of
these 2,414 are communicants, the majority of whom have come out of
the Church of Rome. Now we discern God's intention in hiding the
Waldenses so long among their mountain recesses, in preserving the truth
there during the dark ages, and through centuries of persecution ; He
had a great work for them to do in Italy.
In 1860 they removed their Theological College from La Tour, in the
Valleys, to Florence, as a place better adapted for training their students
to evangelical work than their own mountain home ; and there three
professors are laboring to prepare for the ministry not only Waldensian
students, but others who, converted to the evangelical faith, wish to be
come ministers or teachers. Before, however, being ordained as minis
ters, the students have to pass a searching examination as to their fitness
for the ministry, their learning and their moral conduct. Even during
their college course, also, they are made useful in Florence and other parts
of Italy in preaching and teaching the Gospel, and it may be added that
the old palace of Cardinal Salviati, where the students are lodged and
the professors (Comba, Geymonat, and Albert Revel) lecture, contains
also the Claudian Press, from which have emanated Bibles, tracts, and
religious books by tens of thousands, which are dispersed by colporteurs
and book depots throughout Italy.
In that land at this moment a wide door is open for the circulation
and preaching of God's Holy Word. Side by side with that great fact
mark this : In a corner of that land God has for long centuries preserved
a community who have held a pure faith, and constitute a Christian
Church — organized and in full working order. This Church has now
100 agents engaged in evangelizing Italy; and for that great work none
can claim greater fitness. Not foreigners, but Italians by birth, by civil
rights and privileges, they constitute a native agency. They have always
opposed the errors of Rome. They are naturally hardy and frugal in
their habits, sound in the faith, and possess standards eminently scrip
tural. At the same time their object is not to Waldensianize the Italians,
but to preach the simple Gospel of Christ for the salvation of souls, leav
ing their converts at liberty to organize themselves as they deem best ;
and in proof of their freedom from any marked ecclesiasticism, it may be
noted that they have much in common with both the Episcopal and
Presbyterian Churches.
The field is vast and full of promise. There are sister Churches, native
and foreign, each endeavoring to take her part in the work. May this
ever be a holy rivalry, considering one another "to provoke unto love
and to good works."

THE WALDENSIAN CHURCH IN ITALY.

This Church has, for carrying on its Mission Work, 39 settled Congre
gations and 24 Missionary Stations, besides 62 localities visited more or
less frequently by Evangelists.
The number of ordained Ministers is 31 ; and of Evangelists 15.
The Commission of Evangelization has also under its charge 52
Teachers and 7 Colporteurs.
The regular attendants at Church (adherents) amount to 4,203 ; the
occasional hearers to 15,323.
The number of Communicants last year was 2,530 ; of members newly
admitted, 226 ; and of Catechumens, 393.
There are 59 day-schools, with an attendance of 1,888 pupils, and 49
Sabbath-schools, with an attendance of 1,749 pupils.
There is at Florence a Theological College, established for the training
of Ministers and Evangelists, under the Rev. Professors Geymonat,
Comba, and Albert Revel.
The present expense of these Missions is about £10,000 per annum. As
the Waldensians themselves have not the means, it is only by the aid of
Christians of other lands that this great work of Evangelization can be
carried on and extended. Their part is to furnish the living men — men
of integrity, sound in faith, zealous for the glory of Christ, and able to
address effectively their fellow-countrymen in their own language ; ours
to give of that gold and silver which He to whom they belong has so
abundantly bestowed upon us as a nation.
An earnest appeal is now made on behalf of the Missions of this truly
Christian and historic Church. If we fail to help them the extension of
the work cannot be maintained. It should be remembered that they do
not ask us for assistance to support the pastors and schools of their own
valleys, but solely for their Missions in other parts of Italy.
The Committee formed in New York is for the purpose of collecting
Funds in aid of the Waldensian Church Missions in Italy.
The Funds so collected will be remitted to the Waldensian' Commis
sion of Evangelization at Florence, and an Annual Statement of
Receipts and Expenditure will be published.
Contributions may be sent to
William Rankin, Esq., Treasurer,
28 Centre St., New York.

SUMMARY.

The history of the Waldenses cannot fail to strike a chord of deepest
sympathy in the hearts of all true Christians. Deriving their creed from
primitive times, they have existed as a visible Church, distinct and sepa
rate from the Church of Rome. Protected by their mountain fastnesses
in the north of Italy, they have lived in the old faith — the faith of the
Apostles — the faith which we ourselves hold ; so that, as witnesses for
the Truth, they form a link between the days of the Apostles and the
present time. After surviving centuries of unparalleled persecutions by
the Church of Rome, they were prepared in a remarkable way, under Dr.
Gilly and General Beckwith, for their final emancipation in 1848.
Having been thus marvellously preserved, they believed that God had
kept them for a special work — to lead the way in the evangelization of
Italy. Accordingly, in 1 848, they girded themselves for this great enter
prise, and now this " Church of the Valleys" has Missionary stations in
every corner of Italy.
An earnest appeal is now made in behalf of the Missions of this truly
Christian and Apostolic Church. Their present cost is about $50,000 per
annum. It should be remembered that they do not at present ask us to
support the Churches and Schools in their own Valleys, but solely to
give for their Missions in other parts of Italy.
This object is affectionately commended to the American Churches by
the following named gentlemen :

Rev. Dr

Adams,

Rev. Dr. Hamilton,

Rev. Dr

. Rogers,

a

Hall,

" Hastings,

a

Hitchcock,

a

Prime, ,

" Paxton,

a

Ting, Jr.,

a

Shait,

" Tucker,

it

Seibert,

a

Field,

" Vincent,

ii

Rylance.

it

Bevan,

" Wilson,

The following gentlemen have contributed to this work :

James Lenox,
Robert Bonner,

R. L. & A. Stuart,
P. M. Bryson,

Wm. E. Dodge, Jr.,
Henry Harrison.

WHY flodil I amnt tta Missions in Italy ?
1. Because Romanism is doing so much mischief in our own country,
and it is important that the evil should be met at the fountain-
head in Rome, by the Gospel, which is the power of God unto
Salvation, to every one that believeth.
2. Because the Waldensian Church, being the Ancient Evangelical
Church of Italy, has been preserved by God, and prepared for
this Special Mission, and He has evidently put His seal on their
work.
3. Because their Evangelists— being natives of Italy, and yet trained to
habits of frugality and truthfulness, being also men of piety and
sound doctrine — are peculiarly fitted for the work.
4. Because the Waldensian Church, although rich in men, is wholly
destitute of pecuniary means, and therefore appeals to us for help,
without which the work cannot be carried on.

We read in Dr. Thomas Guthrie's autobiography :
" The country in whose spiritual needs, during his latter years, he was
led to feel the greatest interest, was the Italian Peninsula ; and of all the
agencies there, his heart was chiefly drawn out to the ancient Church of
the Waldensian Valleys. To every other agency at work for the evange
lization of Italy he wished God-speed ; but he was convinced that the
finger of Providence pointed to that small but interesting Church as de
serving a foremost place in the sympathy of British and American Chris
tians, and a Benjamin's portion of their help."
The Rev. Dr. Stewart, of 'Leghorn, Moderator of the Free Church
General Assembly in 1874, when speaking of Dr. Guthrie's loss, said :
" I gladly seize this opportunity of bearing testimony to the warm
affection he bore to the Ancient Italian Church in the Waldensian Val
leys ; to the hearty and efficient manner in which he advocated its inter
ests both in Scotland and in England, and was about to do so in America,
when death cut him off. During his last illness fervent prayer was
offered in his behalf in every parish of the Waldensian Valleys; and his
death was mourned as that of a well-beloved friend. His memory will
long be cherished among them, along with those of Gilly and Beckwith,
as their generous ^benefactor."

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