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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28933	The history of the Vaudois. Wherein is shewn their original; how God has preserved the Christian religion among them in its purity, from the time of the Apostles to our days; the wonders he has done for their preservation, with the signal and miraculous victories that they have gained over their enemies; how they were dispersed, and their churches ruined; and how at last they were re-established, beyond the expectation and hope of all the world. / By Peter Boyer ... ; and newly translated out of French by a person of quality.; Abrégé de l'histoire des Vaudois. English	Boyer, P. (Pierre), 1619-ca. 1700.; Boyer, Abel, 1667-1729.; Person of quality.	1692 (1692)	Wing B3918A; ESTC R5697	97,378	276

them In another place we shall speak of these two Witnesses when we shall shew when it was that these poor people were driven out of their Country and when and how it was that they were re-established by the Duke of Savoy their Soveraign Prince The Vaudois in the second Article of their faith hold the Holy Scripture for their rule of faith and so do teach that nothing is to be believed as an Article of Faith that they do not prove by clear proofs of Scripture and so in the tenth and eleventh Articles they reject all humane traditions as abominations and they acknowledge only two Sacraments viz. Baptism and the Eucharist In the thirteenth Article they give us a scantling of their doctrine where they say thus The Sacraments according to St. Augustine in his City of God is an invisible grace represented by a visible thing and they say there is a●… great deal of difference between the sign and the thing signified The first Sacrament is called Baptism viz. a washing or sprinkling of Water which must be administred in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Behold here also that which is found in the Book of Antichrist relating to Baptism This Book was made in the year 1120 as we have said before Those things which are not necessary in the administration of Baptism are exorcisms insufflations the sign of the Cross upon the Head and Breast of the Infant Salt which is put in the Childs mouth Spittle into the Ears and Nose the Crysmatical unction upon the Head and all such like things consecrated by the Bishops They likewise say it's unnecessary to put a lighted Torch in the Childs hand and after Baptism to put on it a white garment or to bless the Water or to dip it thrice or to have Godfathers and Godmothers All these things done in the administration of the Sacraments they say are not of the substance of Baptism and by consequence unnecessary Behold likewise here what they say of the Supper of our Lord in the same Book of Antichrist as Baptism which is taken visibly and visibly administred is as it were an enrolling one in the company of the Faithful and obliges them to follow Jesus Christ and observe his Commandments and to live up to the rules of the Gospel so likewise the Holy Supper and the Holy Communion of our Saviour the breaking of Bread and the giving of thanks is a visible Communion performed by the members of Jesus Christ For those that take and break the same bread are one body and are members one of another planted in him to whom they protest and promise to persevere in his service even to the end without leaving the Faith of the Gospel or the Union that they have all promised to God through and by Jesus Christ. And in the same Book of Antichrist The eating of the Sacramental Bread is the eating of the Body of Christ in figure only as often as you shall do this do it in remembrance of me for if it were not a Spiritual Eating Christ would be obliged to be eaten continually and he in truth eats Christ who believes in him and Christ says That to eat him is to dwell in him From whence it follows that the Vaudois did not believe Transubstantiation nor the Oral and Corporal Eating of the Body of Christ but that the signs in the Supper of our Lord remained as they were before in substance before they were employed to this holy use and that as often as they received these visible signs by their mouth they received by faith the vertue and efficacy of the Body of Jesus Christ broke upon the Cross signified by the breaking of Bread and of his Blood that was spilt signified and represented by the pouring of the Wine into the Cup and that by this action they celebrated the memory of the death of Christ and obeyed his Commandment Do this in remembrance of me Words that St. Paul explains in this manner As often as you shall eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup you declare and commemorate the death of the Lord till he come If the Vaudois have conserved the purity of the Christian Religion from the time of the Apostles till the beginning of the Eleventh Age as we have shewn by their Confession of Faith which they made at the beginning of that Age they have not kept it less pure from that time till our days as we shall prove by another Confession of Faith which they made in the year 1655. After the Massacre which all Christendom has heard spoken of with horror and detestation and of which we shall speak hereafter A short Confession of the Faith of the Churches of Piemont published with their Manifesto after the dreadful Massacres of the Year 1655. ARTICLES We believe first That there is but one only God who is a Spiritual Essence Eternal Infinite all Mercy all Wisdom all Justice in a word every way perfect and that in this Infinite and Pure Essence there are three Persons the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost II. That this God has manifested himself to men by his glorious works as well by his Creation as his continual Providence and by his Word revealed at first by his Oracles in divers manners afterwards reduced by writing into Books which we call the Holy Scripture III. That these Holy Scriptures ought to be received as we receive them for Divine and Canonical viz. for the rule of our Faith and the direction of our Life as they are contained in the books of the old and new Testament and that in the old Testament there are only these books following to be received as of divine revelation and which God only approved of and consigned to the Church of the Jews viz. The five Books of Moses Joshua Judges Ruth the 1 and 2 of Samuel the 1 and 2 of Kings the 1 and 2 of Chronicles the 1 of Esdras Nehemiah Esther Job the Psalms the Proverbs of Solomon Ecclesiastes the Song of Songs the 4 greater Prophets and the 12 lesser The Books of the new Testament are The 4 Gospels the Acts of the Apostles the Epistles of St. Paul to the Romans 2 Epistles to the Corinthians 1 to the Galatians 1 to the Ephesians 1 to the Philippians 1 to the Colossians 2 to the Thessalonians 2 to Timothy 1 to to Timothy 1 to Titus 1 to Philemon 1 to the Hebrews 1 of St. James 1 of St. Peter 3 of St. John 1 of St. Jude the Apocalypse or the Revelations of St. John IV. That we acknowledge the Divinity of these sacred books not only by the Testimony of the Church but principally by the eternal and indubitable truth of the Doctrine contained in them and for the excellent and divine Majesty of them and by the operation of the holy Ghost which makes us receive with Reverence the Testimony which the Church gives on them which opens our Eyes to discover

Pretorium which as every body knows was the Court of the Emperor and all other places of Rome This great Apostle having gained many Disciples in this famous City God made them instruments of planting the Christian Religion in Italy and in Piemont which is a part of Italy For the history of the Church tells us that those whom God had illuminated with his holy doctrine burnt with a desire of imparting the saving grace of which they did participate to others It it be true also that St. Paul performed his voyage into Spain as he designed Rom. 15. 24. he took Rome in his way it 's not to be doubted but that if he went by Land he passed through Piemont for it 's in the direct way from Rome to Spain And if he went by Sea it was not necessary that in going from Corinth to Spain he should pass by Italy but he was at Corinth when he writ he had a desire to go into Spain If he had passed through Piemont as in all appearance he did it 's certain he preached there for he preached every where where he came Since the Valleys of Piemont were enlightned with the bright Rays of the Gospel the Inhabitants of these Countries have conserved the purity of the Christian Religion without any mixture of humane traditions they never had any Images or Altars in their Churches they never invoked the Angels or Saints never believed in Purgatory they never acknowledged other mediator than Jesus Christ nor other merit than that of his Death One never heard them speak of the Mass of auricular Confession of Abstinence from certain sorts of meat of the Celibacy of Priests of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation they always held the H. Scriptures to be the perpetual rule of Faith and would never receive or believe any thing but what they taught and their Doctrine was always the same it is now This is proved clearly from the Acts that were preserved from the Flames that reduced their Churches and houses into Ashes among the which there is one writ in their vulgar tongue in the Year 1100. called the Lesson because it gives the rules of holy living and good works besides a Catechism of the same Year where in question and answer are taught the principal mysteries of the Christian Religion according to the word of God without any mixture of Traditions besides an explication of the Lords prayer in the Year 1120. and an explication of the Apostles Creed with several passages of the H. Scripture explaining ever article to which is joyned an explication of the ten Commandments in short a little book entituled A Treatise of Antichrist These three Acts were made in the Year 1120. the last of these Treatises shews that all those are Antichrists that teach Doctrines contrary to the word of God They confute the doctrine of Prayers for the dead Purgatory Auricular Confession Abstinence from Flesh and reject all traditions that are not in the word of God and are not conformable to it When these acts were made the Christian doctrine was not corrupted every where there were then many persons in France Germany and England who wrote against the errors which were by Rome and her Doctors introduced into the Church If the purity of the Christian Religion had not been conserved in tehse Valleys of Piemont from the time of the Apostles till the beginning of the Eleventh age in which these Acts were made how had it been possible for them to have made so many famous acts in which the purity of the Christian Religion is so clearly taught If they had before received the errors of Rome by whom and when were these errors purg'd out of the Churches of Piemont Who was the Reformer Where are the Acts that speak of this Reformation that they may be produced If there be none then there was never any reform and by a clear consequence the Christian Religion has remained from the time that the Vaudois received it such as is contained in those Acts till the time that these Acts were made In the ninth age about two hundred years before these acts were made lived Claudius of Turin Bishop of that City and the Valleys who writ sharply against the errors of the Church of Rome this Bishop condemned the Invocation of the Saints the worshipping of Images of Reliques and the Cross he maintained the doctrine of St. Augustine concerning grace and by consequence he rejected the merit of good works he taught that the Salvation of mankind doth wholly depend upon the merits and death of Christ he condemned likewise Pilgrimages made to Rome which the Monks brought into request His whole Diocess according to the writings of a learned man followed exactly his Doctrine the Sheep lovingly following the Shepherd The doctrine of Transubstantiation was not in his time received in France except in some few Bishopricks the greatest stream of writers did strongly oppose it they did receive the Communion under both kinds they did not adore the Sacrament they read the Holy Scriptures and taught it their children they made no direct Prayers to Saints as they have done since they attributed all to the grace and mercy of God The Christian Religion being pure in Piemont in the ninth age as it appears by the writings of Claudius of Turin there is no doubt to be made of its conserving it self so till the eleventh age in which those acts of which we have spoken were made So we cannot learn from any Historian that those Valleys were either before or after the time of this great Bishop reformed and we see clearly by indubitable acts that two hundred years after the same Religion was in those Valleys in its purity without the allay of humane Traditions and Ceremonies and the greatest enemies of the Vandois for all their boasting are not able to shew the contrary But above all the purity of their Religion appeared by that excellent profession of their Faith made in the year 1120 more than 50 years before Waldo of Lyons The Articles are as follow I. We believe and firmly hold all that is contained in the twelve Articles of the Symbol of the Apostles holding for Heresie all doctrine thut doth not agree with the foresaid Articles II. We believe in one God Father Son and Holy Ghost III. We hold for Holy and Canonical Scriptures the Books of the Holy Bible the five Books of Moses which are Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 of Kings 2 of Kings 1 of Cronicles 2 of Cronicles 1 Esdras Nehemiah Esther Job the Book of Psalms the Proverbs of Solomon Ecclesiastes the Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah the Lamentations of Jeremiah Ezechiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonas Micah Nahum Habbakkuk Sophoniah Hagge Zachariah Malachiah After follow the Apocryphal Books which are not received by the Jews but we read them as Jerome says in his Preface to the Proverbs for the instruction of the people but not to

the rays of Celestial light which shone in these sacred Books which rectifies our Understanding to discern and rightly tast the divine things contained in them V. That God has made all things of nothing by his free will and by the infinite power of his word VI. That he guides and governs all things by his providence ordering all things that happen in the World without being the author or cause of Evil that the Creatures do so that he is wholly without blame and evil can in no manner be imputed to him VII That the Angels having been created pure and holy some of them fell into sin and irreparable perdition but others persevered by an effect of the Divine Goodness who assisted them and confirmed them in grace VIII That Man who was created Pure Holy after the Image of God deprived himself by his own fault of this happy state giving his assent to the captious discourse of the Devil IX That man has lost by his Transgression the Justice and Holiness he received incurring with the indignation of God death and captivity under the power of him who hath the Empire of Death viz. the Devil to that degree that his free will is become a Servant and Slave of Sin so that by nature all men as well Jews as Gentiles are the Children of wrath dead in their sins and by consequence uncapable of having any good motion towards their Salvation nor to frame a good thought without Grace all their imaginations and thoughts being always evil X. That all the posterity of Adam were made guilty by his disobedience infected with the same Corruption and fallen into the same Calamity even young Children from the Womb of their Mother from whence comes the name of Original Sin XI That God withdrew out of this Corruption and Condemnation the Persons that he has chosen by his mercy in Jesus Christ his Son leaving others by an irreproachable justice of his Liberty XII That Jesus Christ being ordained of God in his eternal decree to be the only Saviour and the only head of his body which is his Church he has redeemed it with his own blood in the fulness of time and communicates to it all his benefits and favours by the Gospel XIII That ther●… are two Natures in Jesus the divine and humane truly in one Person without Confusion without Division without Separation without Change each Nature keeping its distinct property and tha●… Jesus Christ is true God and man XIV That God has so loved the world that he has given his only Son for to save us by his most perfect Obedience particularly by that he suffered the cursed Death of the Cross and by the victories he gained over the Devil Sin and Death XV. That Jesus Christ having made an intire expiation of our Sins by a most perfect Sacrifice of himself upon the Cross it cannot nor ought not to be reiterated upon any pretence whatsoever XVI That Jesus Christ having fully reconciled us to God by his blood-shed upon the Cross it 's by his only merit and not by our works that we are absolved and justified before him XVII That we have an Union with Jesus Christ and Communion of his Benefits by Faith which are promised us by his holy Gospel XVIII That this Faith comes from the gratious and efficacious operations of the holy Ghost which illuminates our Souls and carries them to rely upon the mercy of God to be applyed by the Merits of Jesus Christ. XIX That Jesus Christ is our only and true Mediator not only as to Redemption but also as to Intercession and that by his Merits and Mediation we have access to the Father for to invoke him with a holy Confidence to be heard without any need of having recourse to any other Intercessor than him XX. That as God doth promise us regeneration in Jesus Christ those that are united to him by a lively Faith should apply themselves with all their heart to do good works XXI That good works are so necessary to the faithful that they cannot come to the Kingdom of Heaven without doing of them so we must walk in the ways of Justice and Righteousness sly all Vices and exercise our selves in all Christian Vertues imploying Fasting and all other means that may conduce to so holy an end XXII That though we cannot merit any thing by our good Works our Saviour will notwithstanding recompence them with eternal Life by a merciful Continuation of his Grace and in Vertue of an immoveable Constancy of his Grace and Promises XXIII That those that possess eternal Life for their Faith and good Works must be considered as Saints and glorified and praised for their Vertues intimated in all their excellent Actions But not adored or invoked for no Address of Prayer must be made to any but God alone through Jesus Christ. XXIV That God has gathered together a Church in this world for the Salvation of mankind but she has but one Head and Foundation which is Jesus Christ. XXV That this Church is the company of the Faithful who being elected by God before the Foundation of the world and called by a holy Vocation are united together for to follow the word of God believing that which he teaches and living in his Fear XXVI That this Church cannot fail or be quite destroyed but that it will always remain XXVII That every body must be a Member of that Church and keep in her Communion XXVIII That God doth not only instruct us by his word but that besides he has instituted Sacraments to be joyned to his word as the means to unite us to Christ and to communicate to us his Benefits and that there are but two common to all the Members of the Church under the new Testament viz. Baptism and the Supper of our Lord. XXIX That he has instituted the Sacrament of Baptism for a Testimony of our Adoption and that we are washed from our Sins in the Blood of Jesus Christ and renewed in Sanctity of Life XXX That he has instituted that of the Eucharist or of his Holy Supper for the nourishment of our Souls to the end that by a true and lively saith by the incomprehensible vertue of the Holy Ghost eating effectively his Flesh and drinking his Blood and uniting us most inseparably to Christ in him and by him we may have Eternal Life XXXI That it 's necessary that the Church have Pastors well instructed and of good life instituted by them that have the right to do it as well to Preach the Word of God as to administer the Sacraments and watch over the Flock of Christ following the rules of a good and holy Discipline conjointly with the Elders and Deacons according to the practice of the Ancient Church XXXII That God has established Kings and Magistrates for the government of his People and the People ought to be subject and obedient to them in vertue of the said Order not only for Anger but for Conscience in all

things that are conformable to the Word of God who is the King of kings and Lord of lords XXXIII That we must receive the Creed of the Apostles the Lords Prayer the Ten Commandements as Fundamental Parts of our belief and of our Devotions We can likewise make it appear even by evidence drawn out of the Books of the Adversaries of the Vaudois that their Doctrine is the same as it 's represented in this confession and that it has always been so those that have a mind to see those Testimonies may find them in the General History written by Iohn Leger The Vaudois having conserved from Father to Son the purity of the Doctrine of the Apostles from the time they received it down to our days and made a constant profession publickly of this Celestial Doctrine they are by consequence the true Successors of the Apostles CHAP. III. Of the Ecclesiastical Government of the Churches of the Vaudois of Piemont and the Manners of the Vaudois BUT if they have succeeded the Apostles as to their Doctrine they likewise succeeded it as to the Order and Government of the Church In the Primitive Church Acts 20. The Apostles established for the government of it Elders Ephes. 4. 11. and Deacons as we may learn as well from the book of the Acts of the Apostles as from their Epistles Tit. 1. 5 6. the Pastors are likewise called Bishops and Elders 1 Tim. 3. they are called Pastors because they are to feed the Flock of Christ which are his Sheep with the good Word of God they are called Bishops which signifies Inspectors or Watchers because they are to watch and take care of the Flock which is committed to their charge they are called Elders because they ought to be Sage and Prudent and edifie those that are committed to them by their good life and conduct and so there were two sorts of Elders in the Primitive Church the one laboured in the Government of the Church only and the other besides the care they had of the affairs of the Church took also pains in Preaching and Explaining the Word 1 Tim. 5. 17. The Deacons had the care of the Poor and Pastors Elders and Deacons altogether had the government of the Church This is the Discipline that the Churches of Piemont have always kept as one may see in their ancient Manuscripts translated out of their Language into French and treated of succinctly in the Cap. 31. of the First Part of the General History of the Churches of the Vaudois in which writing it 's said the Churches there have always had Pastors Elders and Deacons to govern them as they had till the year 1686. when they were dispersed The Pastors employed themselves to instruct and exhort the people to live well and holily and the Pastors Elders and Deacons altogether watched over their Flock to banish all vice and scandal It was requisite that the Governors of the Church should be of a good Life and holy Conversation for to edifie others by their good Example There were Schools kept to breed up Youth in piety There was likewise a particular School for to instruct those that aspired to the Ministry where was taught Divinity They made the young Scholars learn by heart all the Chapters of the Gospels according to St. Matthew and St. Iohn and all the Canonical Epistles and a good part of the Writings of Solomon David and the Prophets There came to this School young men out of Bohemia and other places where the people of God dwelt and retained the profession of the ancient verity to be instructed in the Ministry The Vaudois were not only pure as to their Doctrine but likewise as to their Manners even their Adversaries witness the same Reynerus Sacco who was one of the first Inquisitors imployed by Rome against those of the Valleys speaks thus of them in his Relation which he made of them to the Court of Rome After he had told that Court that the Sect of the Vaudois was the eldest that had ever been it beginning in the time of the Apostles or at least of Sylvester he adds touching their Manners that whereas all other Sects did strike the hearers with horror of their many Blasphemies against God that this of the Valleys made great demonstration of piety for they live justly before the face of the World and in Chap. 7. of his Book he says the Vaudois are chast The President Du Thou commonly called Tuaanus in Chap 27. of his History says that the Vaudois observe the Ten Commandments of the Law which gives the rule of living holily and piously they give no entertainment to any sort of Vices in their Assemblies they have in horror and detest all sorts of unlawful Oaths Perjuries Wicked Imprecations Quarrels Seditions Debauches Drunkenness Whoring Inchantments Sacrileges Thest Usury Witchcraft and the like And Claudis de Seissel Archbishop of Turin in the Book he wrote against the Vaudois in the year 1500. confesses in formal terms that as to their Life and Manners they live in the world without reproach observing with all their power the Commandments of God We could alledge many other authorities of the bitterest Enemies of the Vaudois which they give of their good life and conversation but the curious may find them in the General History of the Vaudois if they think these be not sufficient CHAP. IV. Of the great Calm the Vaudois Churches enjoyed many Ages WE cannot find in the Ecclesiastical Histories the Vaudois or Christians of the Valleys of Piemont were persecuted under the reigns of Nero Domitian or any other of the Pagan Emperors who so cruelly persecuted the Christians it 's therefore probable that during those cruel persecutions many faithful Christians retired unto these Valleys to escape persecution and to save themselves from the bloody hands of those cruel Butchers as we saw in France during the last persecution that many of the Reformed Religion fled into the Woods Mountains and hid themselves in Caverns and Rocks to save themselves from the hands of the cruel and pitiless Dragoons and to avoid by their flight the danger of renouncing their Religion So the Church which is represented by the Woman is at the same time Rev. 12. described flying into the Wilderness from the fury of the Dragon And is there a more dreadful Wilderness than the Mountains of the Alpes which are covered with Snow eight or nine months of the year amongst which are these Valleys It 's said that in the Desart the Woman had a place prepared of God for her where she might be nourished 1260 days The Valleys have they not been the place which God has prepared to keep his Church safe in since the true Church has been always conserved here from the time of the Apostles even to our days without any interruption or want of succession that while the whole world ran after the Beast only the Inhabitants of these Valleys followed Jesus Christ c. walked according to the