A Pastor of the Valleys
Henri Arnaud was born at Embrun in the French Alps on 15 July 1643 (some older accounts give 1641), to a Waldensian family. Around 1650 the family returned to its home in the Waldensian valleys of Piedmont, and Henri was educated at La Tour (Torre Pellice), the chief village of the valley of Luserna. He studied theology at Basel and at the academy of Geneva, the school of the Reformed churches, and came home to serve as pastor in several of the valleys. By 1685 he was pastor at La Tour.
The Waldenses he served had joined the Reformed churches at Chanforan in 1532 and now followed their confession and order, including the baptism of infants. They had survived the massacres of 1655 and lived under the restrictions of the Dukes of Savoy (massacres of the Waldenses).
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