Home Page of Puerto Rican Artist Porto
Mermaids Sirenas
En mi Viejo San Juan
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 Symbol for Porto Surname and Valdese History in the Piemonte region of what is today Italy and parts of present day Southern France. They were part of a religious sect called the "Valdese"(It.). The Waldensians were followers of Peter Waldo (or Valdes or Vaudes); they called themselves the Poor men of Lyon, the Poor of Lombardy, or the Poor. They were the first Methodist of Europe years before the Reformation was even conceived. A Christian sect believing in poverty and austerity, they were founded around 1170 promoting true poverty, public preaching and the literal interpretation of the scriptures. Declared heretical, the movement was brutally suppressed by the Roman Catholic church. The group was one of many suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church during the 12th and 13th centuries. Fleeing inquisition and persecution,many "Valdese" escaped to Switzerland and Germany. One group settled and founded several villages outside of Cozenza, Calabria (this is where my Mother's side of the Family come from) Origin: Peter Waldo and his followers Waldo began to preach on the streets in the 1160s. By 1170 he and his followers were excommunicated and forced from Lyon. The Catholic church declared them heretics - the groups principle error was "contempt for ecclesiastical power" - that they dared to teach and preach outside of the control of the clergy "without divine inspiration", but they were also accused of the ignorant teaching of "innumerable errors" and condemned for translating parts of the Bible into vernacular. The movement even sought Papal approval for their endeavours at the Third Council of the Lateran where they were humiliated over certain fine theological points but gained a modicum of favour from the Pope. Waldo and his followers developed a system where they would go from town to town and meet secretly with small groups of Waldensians. There they would confess sins and hold service. A traveling Waldensian preacher was known as a barba and could be either man or woman. (The idea of a female preacher was novel, almost revolutionary in and of itself, for the era.) The group would shelter and house the barba and help make arrangements to move on to the next town in secret Seen as schism and heretics The members of the group were declared schismatics in 1184 in France and heretics more widely in 1215 by the Fourth Council of the Lateran's anathema. The rejection by the Church radicalized the movement, in terms of ideology the Waldensians became more obviously anti-Catholic - rejecting the authority of the clergy, declaring any oath to be a sin, claiming anyone could preach and that the Bible alone was all that was need for salvation, they also rejected the concept of purgatory and the idea of relics and icons. They also absorbed a number of other groups including the Humiliati and had their own internal split and reformation with the Lombards. The movement also became associated with the Cathars in Languedoc and so became part of the target for the Albigensian Crusade from 1208. The movement's founder probably died around this time, possibly in Germany. Unlike the Cathars, the Waldensians survived elsewhere in Europe, remaining strong in France and also having a presence in northern Italy, southern Germany and down into central Europe. Particular efforts against the movement began in the 1230s with the Inquisition seeking the leaders of the movement, and the Church creating a new order of Poor Catholics that had some success in drawing back heretics. The movement had been almost completely suppressed in southern France within twenty years but the persecution lasted into the 14th century. A final crusade against the Waldensians was declared in 1487, but Papal representatives continued to devastate towns and villages into the mid 16th century as the Waldensians became absorbed into the wider Protestant Reformation. Assessment in later protestantism Later Protestant groups such as Baptists and Anabaptists sometimes point to the Waldensians as an example of earlier Christians who held beliefs similar to their own, including the belief in Believers Baptism and opposition to pedobaptism. The Mennonite book Martyr's Mirror lists them in this regard as it attempts to trace the history of believer's baptism back to the apostles. Modern Waldensians In the United States of America There is a notable Waldensian settlement in Valdese, North Carolina, USA. The Waldensian congregation there has joined the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has the name of Waldensian Presbyterian Church. In Italy The Italian Waldensian church joined the Methodists to form the Chiesa evangelica valdese (Waldensian Church), which is a member of the World Council of Churches.
The Porto's in Puerto Rico are found in Cayey. They also settled in Cuba, Brasil and Argentina.I found this information on a heraldry page about the Porto's.Origin: Italian  The Historical information on this page was obtained from The Chiesa Evangelica Valdese Web Site and Internet Incylopedia.org, all rights reserved Now here is some infomation about my 2 sets of ancestor's that makes my hair stand up on end. It appears that my Broccoli  Bernard of Clairvaux was born near Dijon in 1090. In 1113 he became a monk in the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux, and in 1115 he became abbot of a monastery at Clairvaux. Under his rule the monastery at Clairvaux became the most prominent of the Cistercian order. Reputed miracles and the eloquent preaching of Bernard attracted numerous pilgrims. Between 1130 and 1145, more than 90 monasteries were founded and Bernard's influence in the Roman Catholic Church was very high. He is reputed to have established the rule of the Order of Knights Templars, and in 1128 he obtained recognition of the order from the church. In 1146, at the command of the pope, Bernard began his preaching of the Second Crusade but its failure was a great blow to him. He was canonized in 1174 and named Doctor of the Church in 1830. Bernard was an uncompromising opponent of heresies and of rationalistic theology. He wrote many sermons, letters, and hymns. Important among his works are De Diligendo Deo (The Love of God) and De Consideratione (Consideration to Eugene III). |
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Art Studio Porto
332 Valles de Torrimar, Penthouse Studio F-308
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00966Tel: (787) 646-2753
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