Exiled from Germany for publishing Dialog on Polygamy. He and his children were sent out into the harsh winter where three of them died of the plague. Ochino died a year later. Some say the Reformation died that day too.
Bernardino Ochino, the General of the order of Capuchins, first fell out of favor with Rome when he began preaching Salvation by Grace. It further came to the attention of the inquisitors that he was spouting Bible verses in the local vernacular. Oh horrors! You mean the people would hear the gospel in Italian from the greatest Italian evangelist in the thousand years? That could not be! He must be tried and burnt at the stake. But Ochino did not wait for a trial, he left Italy and headed for Geneva.
Shortly Ochino’s arrival in Geneva, Calvin wrote well of him:
“The better I learn to know the man, the more I honor him.”
And again, Calvin wrote in a letter to Melancthon:
“We have Bernardino Ochino of Siena here, an excellent and distinguished man.”
Bucer wrote well of Ochino as well, writing to Calvin he said:
“I wish we could show Signor Bernardino the distinctions he merits, his presence is a great pleasure to us.”
Ochino also made his mark in England, receiving a prebend (stipend) from the Royal Crown to preach.
He was well accepted by the people wherever he went, but the authorities were unsettled by his taking the Bible as the actual Word of God, and acknowledging, as we must also, that polygamy is perfectly acceptable in God’s Word.
So we arrive at the sad fact of history, that years later, when Ochino sought refuge in Germany, the surviving reformers did not welcome him, but instead, exiled him for his Dialog on Polygamy. Bucer and Melancthon, famous German reformers themselves, had once approved polygamy in a letter to Philip of Hesse, even attending his polygamous wedding and signing the marriage documents with the Imperial Notary as witness. Yet, Bucer and Melancthon had gone on to be with the Lord years earlier. There was no one left to defend Ochino from what can be described as nothing less than a European Matriarchy, officiated by men. On December 2, 1563, Ochino was exiled from Germany for publishing Dialog on Polygamy. Some say the Reformation ended that day. He and his children were sent out into the harsh elements of winter where three of them died of the plague. Ochino died a year later.
But there is good news. I have republished Ochino’s famous work, A Dialog on Polygamy, from my rare collection of original Christian Patriarchy books. The edition I have published is the best English version available, printed in 1736. The title on the spine is:
Memoirs and Testimonies of Bernardino Ochino
The title on the copyright page reads:
Select and Curious Cases of
Polygamy, Concubinage, Adultery, and Divorce
Seriously and Learnedly Discussed
The portion I have reproduced is his Dialog on Polygamy. In this book, the Famous Italian Reformer; Bernardino Ochino, presents both sides of the polygamy argument, and it’s HILARIOUS! Ochino plays the part of a sixteenth century priest, which he was, while Telypolygamus plays the part of the advocate for polygamy.
In addition to the original translation, I’ve included my own modern font version which includes many editorial changes. You’ll notice that I’ve introduced the nicknames Ochy and Tely for the characters. I find this preferable to identifying them with letters as the original did. If you’re a purist, please, read the old font version. To find the old font version, open the book just beyond the middle. The pages are numbered the same in both versions to make cross referencing easier. My republication with editorial changes even to some of the words in the old font version by copying and pasting together words from the letters to create current era vocabulary puts a new fingerprint and copyright on this edition. Those particular changes will be unnoticed by the reader. If you’d like the original 1736 version for your library, mine is for sale for U.S. $5,200 The newer version, newer is better, right? The newer version is just $13.99
Had Bernardino Ochino not been exiled for writing Dialog on Polygamy, he might have had more to say on the subject. Certainly there is more to say and I have done so in many of my own books. If you enjoy dialogs such as Ochino’s, I’ve written a novel titled Prince of Sumba, Husband to Many Wives. Its characters argue for and against polygamy, I must admit; the pro-polygamy argument is the undisputed winner.