Waldensian Evangelical Church – Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches
The history of the Waldensian Church began eight centuries ago with the preaching of Waldo, a
merchant from Lyon, France, who chose a life of poverty in order to be free to proclaim the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Considered heretical by the Catholic Church, the Waldensian movement survived
repression and persecution over the following centuries, while at the same time spreading across
many parts of Europe, including Provence, Calabria, southern Germany and several valleys of the
Cottian Alps. The movement’s preaching focused on two aspects of the Christian message:
faithfulness to the Gospel and the poverty of the Church.
In 1532 the Waldensians decided to join the Protestant Reformation, but they endured numerous
persecutions by the Church of Rome. In Piedmont they managed to resist until the second half of
the 17th century, when they were forced either to abjure or to go into exile in Switzerland. In 1689
the Waldensians were able to return to their valleys through a march across the Alps known as the
Glorious Return. For the following 150 years, by order of the House of Savoy, they lived confined in
what was effectively an Alpine ghetto that restricted their movement and civil liberties. Finally, on
February 17, 1848, King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted the Waldensians civil and political rights
through the issuance of the Letters Patent.
Today the Waldensian Evangelical Church has approximately 45,000 members in Italy and South
America and, since 1975, has been united with the Italian Methodist Church through a covenant of
integration.
It is a community of evangelical Christians founded on the sole authority of the Bible. It proclaims
a personal relationship with God, practices the universal priesthood of believers, and is based on a
democratic form of organization. The Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches meets each
year in the Synod, a general assembly expressing the unity of all churches, held during the last
week of August in Torre Pellice, in the province of Turin. In the Waldensian Valleys of Piedmont,
the Synod opens with a worship service during which future ministers of worship, called pastors
(men and women), are ordained. The assembly’s work continues throughout the week and
concludes with the appointment of the administrative bodies that will lead the Church in the
following year.
The Waldensian Church is an open church, committed to justice, peace and the protection of
creation, and for forty years it has ordained women to the pastoral ministry. It welcomes and
recognizes same-sex couples. It dedicates energy and resources to service for others. The Church
defends the constitutional principle of the secular state and recognizes the religious pluralism that
is also emerging in Italy. It is engaged in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.
The Church manages around one hundred educational, social and cultural institutions throughout
Italy, from Sicily to Piedmont, and relies on the support of its members to fund its worship,
pastoral and spiritual activities. Many Italian taxpayers allocate their “Eight per thousand” (Otto
per mille) to the Waldensian Church – Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches. Some
appreciate the transparency with which a detailed report is published on how state-allocated
funds are used. Others appreciate that 100% of the funds are used to finance social, educational
and cultural projects in Italy and abroad. Still others sign in favor of the Waldensian Church
because they know it is a poor church committed to defending the rights of all. Not a single euro
received from the Eight per thousand is used for preaching or pastoral activity.
A Church at the service of others that also engages with cultural challenges and includes, in
addition to the Waldensian Faculty of Theology in Rome and the Claudiana Publishing House,

numerous bodies dedicated in various ways to cultural heritage. Among them is the Cultural
Heritage Office of the Waldensian Board (Tavola Valdese), which, through an interdisciplinary
approach, studies, preserves and promotes a diverse heritage spread throughout Italy.

email: staffetta@chiesavaldese.org