[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] 1800's divorce?

[Dave Krause]

Hi list;
I have been trying to understand the procedures and processes that involve
divorce in the Poland/Volhynians areas.  It seems that a male ancestor of
mine appears to have abandoned his family after the birth of the first
child.  However, the "family" continued to expand every couple of years.
And, yes, an individual who appeared to "help" the expansion along was
identified.  Unfortunately, after a couple of additions, the records (by
years) are lost or at least not available so that the exact parentage cannot
be determined.
Questions:
What was the position of the Evangelical (Lutheran) church on adultery
during the mid 1800's?  Was there a threat of excommunication for such
activity?  The subsequent children were baptized and recorded in the record
books.
If an individual (male) chose to divorce his spouse, what was the
procedure?  I'm aware that  occasionally some church records show the status
of divorced on a subsequent marriage record.  If the individual leaves the
area where the couple lived - then chooses to seek a divorce, how would the
wife be notified of the divorce?  Or, would she ever know?  Or, was divorce
a civil cause?
Thanks in advance for any information that is known!
-- 
Take care, Dave Krause