Casteluzzo towers over the valley and town of Torre Pelice as a constant reminder of the persecution that the Waldenses have been through. The 17th century would see probably their worst episode with the massacre at Mount Casteluzzo particularly gruesome. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of truth.

<p>Casteluzzo towers over the valley and town of Torre Pelice as a constant reminder of the persecution that the Waldenses have been through. The 17th century would see probably their worst episode with the massacre at Mount Casteluzzo particularly gruesome. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of truth.</p>

Adam Ramdin

Lineage: Season 1

Episode 1- Constantine: Compromise & Controversy

Episode 2- Scotland’s Braveheart

Episode 3- Holy Island

Episode 4- The Tide Turns

Episode 5- Dinooth & Columbanus

Episode 6- Waldenses: People of the Valleys

Episode 7- The Waldenses: A Mission Movement

Episode 8- The Waldenses: Lux Lucet In Tenebris

Episode 9- The Albigensian Massacre

Episode 10- Magna Carta: The Foundation of Freedom

Episode 11- John Wycliffe: The Morning Star

Episode 12- Bohemian Reformation: Huss & Jerome

Episode 13- Bohemian Reformation: Trial of Huss & Jerome

Episode 14- Bohemian Reformation: Burned for Their Faith

Episode 15- Bohemian Reformation: Hussite Wars

Episode 16- John Wycliffe: Worldwide Witness

Episode 17- The Press Behind the Reformation

Episode 18- Martin Luther: Discovering The Word

Episode 19- Martin Luther: The Just Shall Live By Faith

Episode 20- Ulrich Zwingli: The Swiss Reformation

Episode 21- Martin Luther: The 95 Theses

Episode 22: The Papal Bull & Martin Luther

Episode 23: Martin Luther - Here I Stand

Episode 24: Martin Luther - Captured To A Castle

Episode 25: Martin Luther - Protest of the Princes

Episode 26: John Calvin - Early Years in France

Episode 27: Placards and Protest in France

Episode 28: John Calvin - The Work in Geneva

Episode 29: Geneva - International Hub of Reform

Episode 30: Scandinavian Reformation

Episode 31: William Tyndale

Episode 32: George Wishart - Scotland’s Forgotten Forerunner

Episode 33: John Knox - Scotland’s Greatest Reformer

Episode 34: John Knox - Showdown At Holyrood

Episode 35: The Waldenses Meet the Reformation

Episode 36: Ridley And Latimer Light A Candle

Episode 37: Thomas Cranmer - Cowardice and Courage

Episode 38: Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Episode 39: The Spanish Armada

Episode 40: Guy Fawkes & The Gunpowder Plot

Episode 41: The Mayflower

Episode 42: Martin Luther- The Protest Is Not Over

Episode 43: The Waldenses- Massacre at Castelluzzo

Episode 44: Marie Durand- Righteous Resistance

Episode 45: John Wesley- The Origins of Methodism

Episode 46: John Wesley & George Whitfield

Episode 47: Mary Jones & World Mission

Episode 48: Is the Reformation Over?

Lineage Journey


The Waldensians are 1 of the most faithful groups of people throughout history in Europe. Faithful to the Word of God and faithful amidst much trial. Despite suffering repeated persecution over the course of almost a millennia, in the 17th century they would go through 1 of the worst episodes of their history. [♪ music ♪ In January of 1655, the Duke of Savoy gave The Waldensians in the Lower Valleys In January of 1655, the Duke of Savoy gave the Waldensians in the Lower Valleys a choice. Either attend Mass or leave the valleys.

Rather than compromise, some 2, 000 believers journeyed across snowy rivers and hills in the dead of winter to be welcomed by their fellow believers in the upper valleys. But this was merely the calm before the storm. In April of that year, the Duke sent an army into the valleys, and on April the 24th at 4 a.m. A Saturday, the massacre started. [♪ music ♪ Not content with simply killing them, the soldiers and monks who accompanied them invented barbaric tortures.

Babies and children had their limbs torn from their bodies by sheer strength. Parents were forced to watch their children tortured and killed before they themselves were tortured and killed. Fathers were made to wear the decapitated heads of their children as they were marched to their death. Some Christians were literally plowed into their own field, some were flayed or burned alive, and many endured much worse. Unburied bodies, dead and alive, covered the ground.

In order to escape this terrible massacre, hundreds of Waldensians fled to a large cave in the towering Mount Castelluzzo. The murderous soldiers, however, found them and marched them to the top. [♪ music ♪ They came to this spot right here and were hurled over the edge to their death on the rocks below. I believe that on the resurrection morning many faithful believers will rise to glory from the bottom of this mountain and in this valley. This is the reference in Milton's famous sonnet to The Bloody Piedmontese that hurled mother and infant down the rocks.

Survivors of the massacre were few, but they rallied together and wrote to Christians throughout Europe for help. Their letters included the heart-rending words, Our tears are no longer of water, they are of blood. They do not merely obscure our sight, but choke our very heart.' When Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, heard of the massacre, he called for a national day of fasting and collected money to send to meet the physical needs of the Waldensians. [♪ music ♪ This was not the only instance of persecution, and it continued over 3 and a half decades, from 1655 to 1689. During that time, more than half were driven from the valleys.

Yet in 1689, Henry Arnaud from Neuilland, Switzerland, led a force of 800 warriors back to the border. In the winter they resisted 4 separate attacks from a much larger army. In spring the Papal armies returned with 22, 000 soldiers, this time to fight a much smaller Wadensian force of just 400 men. Yet they were once again defeated, and not only that, not 1 of the 400 men was lost in this battle. They returned to the valleys in what was called the glorious return, reclaiming them once again as a place where they could live and worship.

🎵 music 🎵 The Waldensians had a faith that reminds me of Job. They were a people who suffered attacks and persecutions for several centuries, close to a thousand years, suffering immeasurably. For many, it did not weaken their faith, but rather strengthen it. Sometimes in life we may be serving God, dedicating our lives to Him, and we still go through hard times, trials, and suffering that many say we do not deserve. May we have a faith like Job, who said, Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him?

Whatever we go through in life, may we stay hold of God, trusting that He has our best interest at heart. You you

Series