During the second half of the twelfth century, religious movements developing dynamically among the laity drew inspiration from the ideals of religious life as described in the New Testament. At the centre of this new religious fervour stood voluntary poverty, acknowledged to be a means to achieve spiritual perfection and ensure salvation. The desire to ‘follow the naked Christ in his nakedness’ inspired primarily the representatives of wealthy townsfolk, who could see a basic contradiction between evangelical poverty and their own material gains. From this group there emerged, among others, Valdes, a well-to-do merchant and banker from Lyons. Around 1173, desiring to know the teachings of Christ and the principles of the life of the Apostles better, he ordered translations of parts of the New Testament into Provençal. As the Dominican Stephen of Bourbon tells us, being illiterate himself, Valdes would often listen to these translations of Holy Writ. Influenced by Christ's words to the rich young man (Luke 18:18–23), Valdes abandoned his family, distributed his property to the poor, and began a life of poverty. His spiritual transformation inspired many followers and gave rise to the movement of the Poor of Lyons (pauperes de Lugduno), which, along with the Cathars, became one of the most powerful forces of religious heterodoxy in the Middle Ages. At first Valdes and his followers enjoyed a certain favour among the local ecclesiastical authorities, who were supportive of the penitential side of this religious movement. However, when the Poor of Lyons took up preaching activities, which included expressing anti-clerical opinions, this led to a fundamental change in the stance of the clergy. The meetings of the Waldensians – during which discussions of Scripture, made available in the vernacular, took place – were observed with ever-increasing anxiety. In connection with this, in 1179 Valdes and a group of his followers made their way to Rome to seek support for their movement. After being questioned by the Fathers of the Third Lateran Council, Valdes did indeed win approval for laymen to live in humility and poverty, but at the same time the Waldensians were forbidden to make statements concerning doctrine.