Cyprien Appia

Born in San Giovanni (today Luserna San Giovanni) in 1680, Appia was the son of the tailor and captain Daniel and his wife Constance Vertu. He studied in Lausanne and then, with his brother Paul, at Oxford. As Nishikawa notes: 'Having survived the massacre of the Vaudois in 1686 as small children, the brothers were sent to Lausanne, then to Oxford in order to serve the Vaudois community in the future' by representing the Church to potential patrons in England. In 1706 the brothers, with their return to Piedmont in view, were ordained as pastors by the Anglican Bishop Lloyd of Fulham, and appeared before the SPCK committee most interested in the support of Protestant minorities in Europe. 'They must have impressed the membership, since they were presented with religious tracts "as a testimony of the respect of the society". The SPCK continued to regard the Appia brothers as corresponding members and furnished them with books.' (Nishikawa 2005: 748)

Back in the Waldensian valleys, the brothers acted as chaplains to the Protestant Legations in Turin and were consecrated in Torre Pellice on February 16, 1708: Cyprien then succeeded Henri Arnaud as pastor of San Giovanni, from 1708 until Appia's death in 1744.

His British connections continued to provide some protection over his three decades of ministry. In 1710 Appia was imprisoned for ten days in Fenestrelle, where he had gone for a baptism, but was soon released thanks to the intervention of James Chetwynd, a well-known London banker. For a similar event, in 1726, he was sentenced to exile and confiscation of assets, penalties which were then commuted due to the intervention of Lord Edge, the British ambassador to Turin. Imprisoned again in 1734 with Jean Vincent Arnaud and two other colleagues for having celebrated the cult without authorization, he was released again for the generous intervention of the English ambassador in Turin and for the fact that he had been consecrated in the Anglican Church.

Appia held various positions in the administration of the Waldensian churches: he was secretary, vice-moderator and on several occasions moderator (1718-22, 1722-25, 1734-44) of the Tavola. He also left numerous writings, including the funeral oration of Pastor Reynaudin, his collaborator, and a speech (delivered on 25 July 1734) of reconciliation between the Waldensian Church and Pastor J. Arnaud, who had been accused of adultery and had applied to be reinstated in his former role.

Appia married the French-born Jeanne Joubert (1678-1758), daughter of Antoine Joubert, of Dignes in the Dauphiné. They had Constance Dauphine (1708-1779), who married the pastor David Léger; Daniel Isaac (1710-1780), pastor; Louise (1713-?); Jean Cyprien (1716-1737) and Jeanne Catherine (1718-1745).

Sources:

Nishikawa, Sugiko. (2005). 'The SPCK in Defence of Protestant Minorities in Early Eighteenth-Century Europe', Journal of Ecclesiastical History 56.4 (October): 730-748.

Pilone, Luca and Sara Pasquet. [nd]. 'Cyprien Appia (1680 - 1 febbraio 1744)', Dizionario biografico dei Protestanti in Italia https://www.studivaldesi.org/dizionario/evan_det.php?secolo=XVIII&evan_id=531.

Further reading:

Appia, B. (1970). 'Une famille vaudoise du Piémont du XIVe au XIXe siècle', Bollettino della Società di Studi Valdesi 127 (June 1970): 3-39.

Archivio della Società di Studi Valdesi (in ATV), Fondo Carte Famiglia Appia, fascicolo 7: Sermoni di Cyprien Appia.

Gay, T. (1906). Temples et pasteurs de l'Église vaudoise de Saint-Jean de 1555 à 1905, Torino: Stamperia dell’unione tipografico-editrice, 1906, pp. 44-45.

Pons, T.J. (1948). 'Pastors in the Waldensian Valleys from 1692 to 1854', in T. J. Pons (ed.), Actes des Synodes des Eglises Vaudoises 1692-1854, Bollettino della Società di Studi Valdesi 88 (1948): 283.