There are many studies on the historical process, but I wish to share here how it was technically possible. As we know, when Ecumenical dialogue is mature enough to dare something out of one another’ s comfort zone, there comes a technicality, meaning an objective reason preventing what Christians actually want.
The key technical word is‘ Patto’( Covenant). What is dearest to Methodists’ identity is the Covenant Service, the celebration of the renewal of the Covenant between God and God’ s people:‘ Thou art mine, and I am thine’. What some Methodists ignore is that the concept of covenant is central also in Reformed tradition( and also that John Calvin was more interested in sanctification than in predestination, but that is something for another article).
In 1532 Waldensians joined the Swiss Reformation, formally becoming a Reformed Church; in
Rev. Peter Ciaccio. their long and interesting history they had at least another covenant before 1975, namely the‘ Patto di Unione’ in 1689. In 1655 the Waldensians who escaped extermination during the so-called‘ Piedmontese Easter’ massacre(‘ Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints’, sang John Milton) found refuge in Geneva; 34 years later they reconquered their Valleys( the Glorious Homecoming) and took the solemn oath to keep the union between local Churches. The plural is the key: in 1689 free Churches and free individuals joined together; the same formula was kept for the‘ integration’ between Waldensians and Methodists. Thus, the official name of the Chiesa evangelica valdese – Unione delle chiese metodiste e valdesi.
This is how it was technically( and ecclesiologically) possible. Peter Ciaccio
5