Poor

The "Poor" or "Poor of Lyon" were a medieval French religious group founded by Valdes around 1170. Valdes, a successful merchant, experienced a religious conversion and began preaching voluntary poverty. While Pope Alexander III confirmed his vow of poverty, Pope Lucius III later forbade him to preach. In 1182 or 1183, Valdes and his followers were excommunicated for defying the preaching ban and were banished from Lyon. They were condemned as heretics alongside groups like the Cathari.1

The Waldenses, as they became known, sought to follow Christ in poverty and simplicity. They rejected various Catholic doctrines, including the necessity of priests for confession, the use of indulgences, infant baptism, and the doctrine of transubstantiation. Their beliefs were based on a simplified biblicism and a strict moral code, accepting the Bible as the sole authority for doctrine. Persecution forced them to practice and teach in secret, and remnants of the movement eventually aligned with Protestant reformers.21