When A Monk Married A Nun

 In 1525 a former monk married a former nun.  Their names were Martin Luther (1483-1546) and Katherina von Bora (1499-1552).  Martin Luther joined the monastery and was ordained as a priest in 1507.  Katherina von Bora joined a convent at the age of 16.  

Of course Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation.  Through his study of the Bible, Luther came to see that the Roman Catholic Church was in error on the gospel and the authority of Scripture.  He also found that the Catholic doctrine forbidding clergy to marry was not Biblical.  In 1521 Martin Luther was declared a heretic and an outlaw for his stand on Biblical teaching which the Roman Catholic Church opposed.  

Eventually the writings of Martin Luther made their way into the convent where Katherina von Bora and other nuns were able to read them.  In 1523 Luther arranged for several nuns including Katherina von Bora to be smuggled out of the convent in fish barrels. 

Luther tried to arrange several different marriages for Katherina von Bora but none was successful.  Eventually he decided to marry her himself.  The couple were married in June of 1525, and a former monk married a former nun. 

Martin and Katie Luther had a good marriage.  Luther referred to her as, "Katie my rib." He also said, "I would not exchange my Katie for Paris or all of France, for Venice or all of Italy, for God has given her to me and has given me to her." Katie Luther managed the home and often engaged in theological discussion  with her husband, Martin Luther.  The couple had six children together.