DEDICATION

attributes Likely referring to the writer Reinerius Saccho, mentioned later on the page. [to them], that they believe all things well regarding God and receive all the articles contained in the Church's creed, but they blaspheme and hate only the Roman Church. He distinguishes their errors into three main headings: namely, that they teach certain erroneous things against the Roman Church, against the doctrine of the Sacraments and the saints, and against the honorable rites of that same Church. Regarding the Roman Church, he says, they teach that it is not the Church of Christ, but the "church of evildoers" original: "Ecclesiam malignantium," a phrase from Psalm 26:5 often used by reformers to describe a corrupt institution., which since the time of Sylvester Pope Sylvester I (reigned 314–335). Early Protestants believed the Church was corrupted during his reign by the "Donation of Constantine," which granted the papacy worldly power and wealth., when the poison of temporal dominion was poured into it, has fallen away from the purity of doctrine. Consequently, they claim it is no longer the bride of Christ, but that "great harlot" described in the Revelation of John; that the Pope is the head and fountain of all errors; and that the prelates of the Roman Church are like the Scribes of the Jews, and the monks like the Pharisees, having turned away from the doctrine of the Gospel toward human traditions.

They disapprove of the Sacraments being administered in a foreign tongue referring to the use of Latin instead of the local language., since the godfathers original: "Patrini," the sponsors at a baptism. who respond or make vows in Baptism do not understand what is said; likewise, they reject exorcisms, the signing of the cross, and other such things usually employed in Baptism. They deny that the Mass is a sacrifice, assert that its Canon The fixed part of the Mass containing the prayer of consecration. was unknown to the Apostles, and teach that the Eucharist should be consecrated with the words of Christ spoken in the common tongue. Beyond the text of the Holy Bible, they admit nothing into the Church—not the Decretals Papal letters that formulated church law., nor the Decretal Letters, nor the legends of the Saints, nor the traditions of the Church.

Hence they repudiate the invocation of saints, the adoration of the cross, and the consecrations of palms, ashes, chrism holy oil used in various sacraments., the so-called "Lambs of God" original: "agnos Dei," wax medallions blessed by the Pope and worn as sacramentals., salt, and water. They also reject religious pilgrimages undertaken with the belief of earning merit. They deny the existence of Purgatory, saying that after death there are only two paths: one for the elect to heaven, the other for the damned to hell. They claim all Masses—and especially those sung to free the dead from Purgatory—are impious and therefore to be utterly abolished, along with anniversaries Masses said on the yearly anniversary of a person's death. and intercessory prayers of this kind. The same Reinerius Reinerius Saccho, a 13th-century Dominican inquisitor whose writings are a primary source for Waldensian beliefs. records of them that they studied the Old and New Testaments translated into the common tongue—specifically French, by Peter Waldo—with the greatest zeal, and gave anyone the authority to copy it. Aeneas Sylvius Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (1405–1464), who later became Pope Pius II., later Pius...