Monument at Chanforan

Monument at Chanforan. . In 1532 the synod of the Waldensian Church met at Chanforan, a grassy meadow on the side of a mountain in the Valley of Angrogna, and there took their stand with the Reformation. This came only after 15 years of strong considerations and prayerful deliberation by Waldensian pastors and laymen., By joining the Reformation, the Waldensians gained a vast network of Protestant sympathizers who would provide spiritual encouragement as well as financial and fighting support during the devastating years of persecutions to come., As a capstone for the event, the Waldensians pledged funds to gift the Reformation with the first translation of the entire Bible into French from the Greek and Hebrew texts. The Olivetan Bible, published in 1535, became the "authorized version" of French Protestantism, a literary milestone as significant for the French-speaking world as the King James translation into English., Four hundred years later, the Waldensians placed a monument at Chanforan to commemorate the event. The inscriptions read as follows: , On the open Bible (left side): The Bible , (right side): Be Faithful, Revelation 2:10, On the lower plaque: , Here where four centuries ago the ancient Waldensian Church assembled at the Synod of Chanforan, consecrated their own solidarity with the Churches of the Reformation, and offered them as a regal gift the Bible translated by Olivetan - the Christian unions of Piedmont, in solemn memory of this act, raise and dedicate this Monument., September 12, 1532 . September 12, 1932