Valdes of Lyon's conversion

1173

A French merchant named Valdes, on hearing the life of St Alexis sung in a public square, sold his goods, threw coins to the poor, and began preaching. His followers - the Poor of Lyon or Waldensians - would be the most successful dissenting Christian movement of the century. Their insistence on lay preaching and vernacular scripture brought them into direct conflict with a church that reserved both privileges for the ordained clergy.