"Waldensians, the Lollards and the Czech Brethren.
These movements differed in various ways, but they had significant similarities.
--Each of them reacted against a church which through wealth,
privilege and power had moved far from the teachings of Jesus and the dynamic simplicity of the early Christians.
--Each of them emphasized preaching from a Bible in the language of the people.
--Each of them owed its strength to the dedicated involvement of laymen and laywomen.
--And despite the fact that in every case the church responded by Inquisition and burning, each of these movements survived into the sixteenth century to encounter the Reformation."
CT
These movements differed in various ways, but they had significant similarities.
--Each of them reacted against a church which through wealth,
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| Massacre of the Waldensians of Mérindol in 1545 |
--Each of them emphasized preaching from a Bible in the language of the people.
--Each of them owed its strength to the dedicated involvement of laymen and laywomen.
--And despite the fact that in every case the church responded by Inquisition and burning, each of these movements survived into the sixteenth century to encounter the Reformation."
CT