Il Divortio celeste
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Il Divortio celeste ("The Celestial Divorce") is a work by Ferrante Pallavicino, published in 1643, of which Edward Muir reports that it "came to be known, in the words of a contemporary, as 'superior to all others in impiety and blasphemies against the Roman Church.'" In this proposed trilogy, Pallavicino had portrayed Jesus Christ as seeking to divorce himself from the Roman Catholic Church (widely known then as the "bride of Christ"), for committing intolerable adulteries and for living a sinful life. God then sends Saint Paul to investigate these claims, and based on his findings, he recommends that Christ's request be granted. Although the only completed volume of the series ends at this point, according to Muir the story was continued "with an account of how Luther, Calvin, and Mark of Ephesus (the 15th-century Greek theologian who had opposed the unification of the Greek and Roman churches) offered their own churches as the new bride of Christ. After considering their suitability for matrimony, Christ was to have demurred, stating that he did not intend to wed any of the existing churches." A copy of Pallavicino's manuscript found its way to Geneva, where it was published. Il Divortio became a sensation in Italy (where Muir notes it was sold "under the counter"), and was plagiarized in Protestant countries, where German, Swedish, French, Dutch and English translations appeared.
