Chapter 31: The Waldensians Meet the Swiss Reformers. In the early 1500s, the Augustinian stream that had been a mere trickle during the Middle Ages suddenly gushed forth in Germany through the teaching of Martin Luther. At the same time, it burst out in Switzerland under the leading reformer there, named Ulrich Zwingli. As was typical of Augustinian reformers, both Luther and Zwingli were well-educated university men. They were both admirers of Augustine and were well-versed in his writings.
The son of a Swiss magistrate, Zwingli was a prominent patriot, humanist, preacher, and statesman. He was also an ordained priest, serving as a military chaplain for Swiss mercenaries fighting on behalf of the Pope. In 1519, Zwingli was appointed as pastor of the principal church in Zurich, Switzerland. When he accepted the position, Zwingli was not intending to start a Reformation. Nevertheless, in his preaching, he chose not to follow the interpretations of the medieval Catholic theologians.
Rather, he followed his own interpretation of Scripture, which interpretations were heavily influenced by Augustine. Zwingli was a popular public figure, and the civil magistrates in Zurich did not oppose his preaching. In fact, they even ordered the other priests to preach the Scriptures alone and to be silent about human additions. In 1522, Zwingli preached a sermon that showed that the prohibition of eating meat during Lent had no foundation in Scripture.
This touched off a storm that brought Zwingli into open conflict with the Catholic Church and caused considerable commotion throughout Switzerland. Zwingli asked the magistracy to call for a public debate on the issue of Lent, which they did. In the debate, Zwingli won over both the crowd and the magistracy. With the backing of the state, Zwingli launched a major reform of the church in Zurich.
Zwingli's goal became to reform the entire religious, political, and social life of all citizens, based on the power of the Scriptures, as interpreted by Zwingli. Since all of the Swiss Catholic bishops opposed the Reformation, the civil magistracy of Zurich stepped in and assumed the governing and jurisdictional rights formerly carried out by the Catholic bishops. In 1525, the magistracy confiscated all of the property formerly owned by the church, and it began to control the education of the clergy.
Sadly, Zwingli fully accepted the Constantinian hybrid. He preached the Augustinian gospel, not the Kingdom gospel. Zwingli rooted out those Roman Catholic practices that had been added since the time of Augustine. But like all other Augustinian reformers, Zwingli looked to the power of the state to bring about his reforms, and he had no hesitation to use the sword to further his movement. In fact, he died on the battlefield, serving as the chaplain for his reformed army.
South of Zurich, a friend and supporter of Zwingli, William Farel, was preaching Reformation doctrines in the town of Aigle, on the east bank of Lake Geneva. This fiery preacher operated under the protection of the civil government of the canton of Bern, and he successfully persuaded thousands to join the Swiss Reformation. Meanwhile, news of the Reformation had reached the Waldensians in Italy, so they sent two barbers to Germany to learn more about it.
The two men the Waldensians selected were quite different in their makeup. The older of the two, who we know only as Giorgio, was steady, mature, and cautious. The other barber, Martin Gonin, was young and energetic, but quite impressionable. Together, Giorgio and Martin crossed the Swiss Alps on foot and slowly made their way to the Swiss town of Aigle. They were intending to spend only a night or two and then continue on to Germany.
However, while there, they soon heard about William Farel and his Reformation preaching, so they arranged a meeting with Farel, who introduced them to Reformation doctrines. The forceful Farel made quite an impression on the young barber, Martin Gonin. Having learned so much about the Reformation, the two barbers decided to report back to their brothers and sisters in Italy rather than continue into Germany. The young Waldensian, Martin Gonin, returned to Italy quite enthusiastic about the Reformation.
However, the older barber, Giorgio, expressed reservations about joining the Reformation. He had heard and seen enough to know that there were significant differences between the beliefs and practices of the Waldensians and those of the Swiss Reformers. For four years, the Waldensians discussed the matter in their congregations. Finally, they decided to send four new representatives to Switzerland to confer some more. Farel and his fellow Swiss Reformers warmly welcomed these four Waldensian representatives.
Here were the heroes that had stood nearly alone against Rome for over 300 years. "You will never have to stand alone again," the Swiss Reformers told the Waldensians. "We're here to help you." The scenario was not that different from what the 4th-century Christians faced when Constantine offered his help. The same tests faced the Waldensians. In the Swiss Reformers, they had found someone practically next door who wanted to embrace them into their fellowship.
Perhaps centuries of prayers were now finally being answered. Maybe God was opening a new door for them. But there was a catch. "There are just a few things that we need for you to change in order to fully fit into the Reformation," the Reformers told the Waldensian representatives. Well, the few things turned out to be nothing less than the complete abandonment of Kingdom Christianity.
The Waldensians listened to what the Reformers had to say and agreed to communicate further after reporting back to the whole body of Waldensians. The representatives returned to Italy and reported their findings. Soon, there was a three-way split among the Waldensians. The conservatives had heard enough, for they realized that the Reformers were not Kingdom Christians. They wanted to remain separate from the Reformers.
At the opposite end were liberals like Martin Gonin, who felt the Waldensians should join the Reformation, making whatever changes were necessary to fit in. The last group were the moderates, who wanted further dialogue with the Reformers. Since the liberals and moderates comprised the majority, they invited William Farel from Switzerland to come and address a churchwide assembly of the Waldensian body. In a meadow near Chanforan, Italy, the Waldensians met to debate their future.
The persuasive Farel was able to sway the majority of the body to join the Reformation.
At Chanforan, most of the Waldensians agreed to the following positions: "A Christian may swear by the name of God without contravention to what is written in Matthew 5, provided that one who so swears does not take the name of God in vain." "Oral confession of sins is not commanded by God, and it has been determined according to Holy Scriptures that the true confession of a Christian is to confess to God alone." "A Christian may exercise the office of magistrate over Christians who have done wrong." "All those
that have been and shall be saved have been elected of God before the foundation of the world." "The minister of the word of God ought not to itinerate from place to place except it be for some great good of the church." For Farel and the Reformers, this was quite a theological coup.
The Waldensians had basically agreed to give up practically everything that their movement had stood for. For centuries, they had suffered horrendous persecution from the Catholics rather than discontinue their itinerant preaching, but now they gave it up without shedding a drop of blood. At Chanforan, they had even agreed to renounce their practice of voluntary poverty.
The spiritual surrender at Chanforan was capped by the Waldensians agreeing to the commissioning of a new French translation of the Bible to replace the Waldensian translation they had used for centuries. It was the end of one of the most significant Kingdom movements in Christian history. To be sure, the Waldensians continued on. They became model Reformation Christians, happily taking up the sword in defense of their beliefs.
They saw the error of having taken so many Bible passages literally, and they are still with us today, but their Kingdom witness isn't.