Video Introduction to the Waldensian Church

What Does it Mean to be Waldensian?
Being Waldensian means always being in the process of becoming a Christian. The Waldensian movement was born out of a conversion. At a certain point, this mysterious person, Valdo, underwent a spiritual crisis. As a result of this spiritual crisis, he felt that he could no longer live as he had lived until that moment. His crisis revolutionized his life, but that initial revolution was only the beginning, because when a person wants to be a Christian, that person enters a process that never stops. This is the key to understanding Waldensian history: To be Waldensian means to be continuously in the process of becoming, to be always on a journey towards a goal which is to become Christian. —Paolo Ricca

Recent Posts

A Relationship Rooted in Welcome and Shared Faith
From a solitary figure, a lasting relationship has grown—one that has connected congregations in Libertyville, Illinois, and Milan, Italy, for more than two decades. The figure I have in mind is a strong and humble man who served as a faithful elder of the Waldensian Church of Milan, Italy, pictured above, over the course of … Continue reading A Relationship Rooted in Welcome and Shared Faith
Excerpts From AWS Newsletters: Italian Fascism and Its Partnership with the Roman Catholic Church
The photograph above is of Pope Pius XI and Benito Mussolini at a meeting in 1932. Kevin Frederick, the president of the American Waldensian Society, recently had free time to read a number of old American Waldensian Society newsletters. This is the third of three articles in which Kevin summarizes what these newsletters reveal about … Continue reading Excerpts From AWS Newsletters: Italian Fascism and Its Partnership with the Roman Catholic Church
From Italy, Europe, to Italy Street, Valdese: Learning the Waldensian Story
The co-pastor at the Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Valdese, North Carolina, Matt Matthews, wrote this report. My wife and I have lived in Valdese for just over a year and a half, and we still have much to learn about the tenacious Waldenses who founded this town in 1893. They fled hunger and over-population in … Continue reading From Italy, Europe, to Italy Street, Valdese: Learning the Waldensian Story