# Valdese, North Carolina

Valdese (/ˈvældis/ VAL-dees) is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,689 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. One of the largest Waldensian congregations in the United States was founded in the town in the late nineteenth century, now known as the Waldensian Presbyterian Church. The town was settled by immigrants from the Cottian Alps in the Piedmont region of Italy.

## History

The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses (/wɔːlˈdɛnsiːz, wɒl-/), Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the Poor of Lyon in the late twelfth century, the movement spread to the Cottian Alps in what is today France and Italy. The founding of the Waldensians is attributed to Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who gave away his property around 1173, preaching apostolic poverty as the way to perfection.
Waldensian teachings came into conflict with the Catholic Church and by 1215 the Waldensians were declared heretical, not because they preached apostolic poverty, which the Franciscans also preached, but because they were not willing to recognize the prerogatives of local bishops over the content of their preaching, nor to recognize standards about who was fit to preach. Pope Innocent III offered the Waldensians the chance to return to the Church, and many did, taking the name "Poor Catholics". However, many did not, and were subjected to intense persecution and were confronted with organised and general discrimination in the following centuries. In the sixteenth century, the Waldensians were absorbed into the Protestant movement, under the influence of early Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger.
In some aspects the Waldensians of the Middle Ages could be seen as proto-Protestants, but they mostly did not raise the doctrinal objections characteristic of sixteenth-century Protestant leaders. They came to align themselves with Protestantism: with the Resolutions of Chanforan [fr] on 12 September 1532, they formally became a part of the Calvinist tradition. They are members of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe and its affiliates worldwide. They were nearly annihilated in the seventeenth century.
The main denomination within the movement was the Waldensian Evangelical Church, the original church in Italy. In 1975, it merged with the Methodist Evangelical Church to form the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches—a majority Waldensian church, with a minority of Methodists. Another large congregation is the Evangelical Waldensian Church of Río de la Plata in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Congregations continue to be active in Europe (particularly in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy), South America, and North America. Organizations, such as the American Waldensian Society, maintain the history of the movement and declare their mission as "proclaiming the Christian Gospel, serving the marginalized, promoting social justice, fostering inter-religious work, and advocating respect for religious diversity and freedom of conscience."

## Historical sources

Most modern knowledge of the medieval history of the Waldensians originates almost exclusively from the records and writings of the Roman Catholic Church, the same body that was condemning them as heretics.$^{:66}$ Because of "the documentary scarcity and unconnectedness from which we must draw the description of Waldensian beliefs",$^{:87}$ much of what is known about the early Waldensians comes from reports like the Profession of faith of Valdo of Lyon (1180); Liber antiheresis by Durando d'Osca (c. 1187–1200); and the Rescriptum of Bergamo Conference (1218).
Earlier documents that provide information about early Waldensian history include the Will of Stefano d'Anse (1187); the Manifestatio haeresis Albigensium et Lugdunensium (c. 1206–1208); and the Anonymous chronicle of Lyon (c. 1220). There are also the two reports written for the Inquisition by Reinerius Saccho (died 1259), a former Cathar who converted to Catholicism, published together in 1254 as Summa de Catharis et Pauperibus de Lugduno (On the Cathars and the Poor of Lyon).

## Teachings

The Waldensians were associated by councils and papal decrees with the Cathars; however they differed radically from them: the Waldensians never espoused gnostic or dualist views or mysticism, and they did not reject the sacraments in total. The Waldensians initially saw themselves as a "church within the Church".
The Waldensians taught certain doctrines also held by the Catholic Church: they accepted the Trinity, and the earliest Waldensians staunchly defended the Eucharist. However, at least some of them later began to develop a more symbolic view of the bread and wine.
The earliest Waldensians taught the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and affirmed the necessity of priests for the offering of the Mass. However they denied the right of sinful priests to give the Eucharist.
Early forms of the Waldensian Mass sought to recover the early Christian liturgy and contained a sevenfold repetition of the Lord's Prayer, with the Eucharistic elements being consecrated through the sign of the cross. The Waldensians observed the forty-day fast of Lent and practiced Friday abstinence.
Both Waldensian and Catholic sources, however, imply that the Waldensians rejected infant baptism, at least to some extent. This is seen from The Noble Lesson, which refers to Christ specifically calling to baptize those who believed, and Reinerius Saccho mentioning how the Waldensians believed that the "ablution which is given to infants profits nothing". Thus there seems to have been an understanding among the Waldensians that infants could be saved without baptism. They rejected confession to priests, the practice of venerating the saints, the use of oaths, secular courts and prayers for the dead.
Waldensians held and preached a number of doctrines as they read from the Bible. These included:
* The atoning death and justifying righteousness of Christ;
* The Godhead;
* The fall of man;
* The incarnation of the Son;
* A denial of purgatory;
* The value of voluntary poverty;
* Perhaps, the universal priesthood of believers, as according to de Bourbon they claimed that all good men are priests.
They also rejected a number of concepts that were widely held in Christian Europe of the era. For example, the Waldensians held that temporal offices and dignities were not meant for preachers of the Gospel; that relics were no different from any other bones and should not be regarded as special or holy; that pilgrimage served only to spend one's money; that meat might be eaten any day if one's appetite served one; that holy water was no more efficacious than rain water; and that prayer was just as effectual if offered in a church or a barn. They were accused, moreover, of speaking blasphemously of the Catholic Church as the harlot of the Apocalypse. They rejected what they perceived as the idolatry of the Catholic Church and considered the papacy as the Antichrist of Rome.
La nobla leyczon (The Noble Lesson), written in the Occitan language, gives a sample of the medieval Waldensian belief. Once it was believed that this poem dated between 1190 and 1240, but there is evidence that it was written in the first part of the fifteenth century. The poem exists in four manuscripts: two are housed at the University of Cambridge, one at Trinity College in Dublin, and another in Geneva.
Reinerius Saccho gave the following charges against the Waldensians:
* The Pope is the head of all errors
* The Monks are Pharisees
* Christians should obey God instead of the Prelates
* That no one is above one another in the church
* No one should kneel before a priest
* Tithes should not be given
* Bishops should not have royal rights
* They condemn the Catholic sacraments
* The Church has erred by prohibiting the marriage of the clergy
The Waldensians would, later in their history, adopt a number of doctrines from the Reformed churches due to the French Reformer Guillaume Farel, who introduced Reformation theology to Waldensian leaders. They officially adopted Reformed theology at a conference at Cianforan 1532. As a result of the conference, the Waldensians officially modified some of their previous positions such as their rejection of secular courts.

## History
### Origins

According to legend, Peter Waldo renounced his wealth as an encumbrance to preaching, which led other members of the Catholic clergy to follow his example. Because of this shunning of wealth, the movement was early known as The Poor of Lyon and The Poor of Lombardy.
Although they rose to prominence in the twelfth century, some evidence suggests that the Waldenses may have existed even before the time of Peter Waldo, perhaps as early as 1100. In 1179, at the Third Council of the Lateran, Pope Alexander III lamented that the Waldenses were a "pest of long existence". The story of the town's founding is told in the outdoor drama From This Day Forward, which has been performed annually in Burke County since 1968.
In addition to Waldensian Presbyterian Church, the Jean-Pierre Auguste Dalmas House and Valdese Elementary School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Valdese News, a newspaper serving Burke County, was published there from 1938 through 1950.

## Geography

Valdese is located in eastern Burke County. It is bordered to the east by the town of Rutherford College. The Valdese town limits extend north to Rhodhiss Lake on the Catawba River, then follow the land along the southern side of the lake for 4 miles (6 km) to the west.
U.S. Route 70 passes through the town as Main Street, leading west 7 miles (11 km) to the center of Morganton, the county seat, and east 14 miles (23 km) to Hickory. Interstate 40 runs along the southern border of the town, providing access from exits 111 and 112.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.7 square miles (20.0 km$^2$), of which 0.012 square miles (0.03 km$^2$), or 0.17%, is water.

## Demographics
### 2020 census

Valdese racial composition :
| Race | Number | Percentage |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 4,097 | 87.37% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 77 | 1.64% |
| Native American | 1 | 0.02% |
| Asian | 160 | 3.41% |
| Pacific Islander | 10 | 0.21% |
| Other/Mixed | 183 | 3.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 161 | 3.43% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,689 people, 1,545 households, and 1,104 families residing in the town.
The town has a large Italian-American and Hmong-American community. The town has an Italian-based flag, Italian restaurants and bakeries are in abundance in the Valdese area, and in addition to an Italian immigrant and second and third-generation Italian-American community, there is a large Hmong-American (Southeast Asian ethnic group whom has origins in Laos, Thailand, China, and Vietnam, and Xieng Khouang Market Place, a Hmong/Southeast Asian based store, is located in Valdese proper. There is also an ethnic Lao community in the Asheville-Hickory-Vardese area.

### 2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,485 people, 1,886 households, and 1,180 families residing in the town. The population density was 823.8 inhabitants per square mile (318.1/km$^2$). There were 1,992 housing units at an average density of 365.9 per square mile (141.3/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the town was 91.53% White, 1.05% African American, 0.22% Native American, 3.99% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.25% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.91% of the population.
There were 1,886 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $30,617, and the median income for a family was $41,411. Males had a median income of $27,482 versus $22,429 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,965. About 8.3% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
There is also an Occitan-speaking community.

## Notable people

* Hugh Blackwell, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
* Bill Cline, CFL player
* Doug Cline, AFL linebacker for the Houston Oilers and San Diego Chargers
* J. Bazzel Mull, Christian minister and religious broadcaster in East Tennessee
* Stanley Pons, electrochemist
* Tyler Shatley, NFL offensive guard for the Jacksonville Jaguars
* George Shuffler, bluegrass musician
* Alabama Pitts, professional athlete, convicted felon

## Sister city

Valdese has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
* Torre Pellice, Italy