Peter Waldo
Sent away from Lyon, Waldo and his followers moved to the high valleys of Piedmont, and in France, in the Luberon. Finally, Waldo was excommunicated by Pope Lucius III during the synod held at Verona in 1184, and the doctrine of the Poor of Lyon was again condemned by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 where they are mentioned by name for the first time, and called heresy. The Roman Catholic Church began to persecute the Waldensians, and many were tried and sentenced to death in different European countries during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. The Waldensians survived by moving the Alps and hiding there. Centuries after his death, the Waldensian denomination joined the Genevan or Reformed branch of the Protestant Reformation.