The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History by A. Kenneth Curtis

Author:A. Kenneth Curtis [A. Kenneth Curtis, J. Stephen Lang, Randy Petersen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780800756444
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-06-12T16:00:00+00:00

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1559 John Knox Returns to Scotland to Lead Reform

John Knox.

The sixteenth century was a time of turmoil for the small, poor, war-torn land of Scotland. Powerful nobles supported England or France, and the internal struggles and external threats had created a political confusion that begged for change.

On the religious front, reformation had been strictly repressed. Pro-Lutheran preacher Patrick Hamilton died at the stake in 1528. George Wishart followed him in 1548. One of Wishart’s supporters, a previously obscure priest named John Knox, would take up the reform—but not for many years.

Knox was captured by the French forces sent to overcome the rebels who had responded to Wishart’s death by killing Cardinal Beaton, who had ordered Wishart’s death. Knox spent nineteen months as a galley slave. On his release, he went to Protestant England, where he stayed until Mary acceded to the throne. Then he fled to Europe, with other Protestants. In Geneva he became one of Calvin’s most admiring disciples and soaked up Reformed theology.

While Knox was away, Scotland became more closely allied with France, through the marriage of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, to the heir to the French throne. Many Scots feared the rule of the Catholic French. A combination of nationalism and religious dissatisfaction arose to create a climate for reformation.

Knox returned to his country in 1559, to popular support. Battles between the queen’s forces and the Protestants ended in triumph for the Protestant party. In 1560 the parliament adopted a Calvinistic profession of faith, drawn up by Knox and others. Parliament stated that the pope had no jurisdiction in Scotland and forbade the mass.

To replace the Catholic order, Knox and his followers composed the Book of Discipline, setting forth a modified Presbyterian church government. It also provided for comprehensive schooling, including universities. The work would become a landmark for the country, fostering hardy independence and a democratic spirit.

To guide Presbyterian worship, Knox penned the Book of Common Order, which shows his indebtedness to Calvin and other Swiss reformers.

John Knox and the queen were often at loggerheads. The Catholic queen’s court was morally lax—an offense to the upright Knox. From his pulpit in St. Giles, in Edinburgh, he railed against her. Though the queen made no attempt to reconvert the Scots, she practiced her faith in her private chapel—something Knox could not approve.

Though Mary had much charm, she was not very wise in her political and personal dealings. After her French husband’s death, she married her cousin, Lord Darnley. Following his highly suspicious death, the queen hastened to marry the earl of Bothwell. At that point even the Catholics turned against her. Scotland’s nobles forced Mary to abdicate, and the way was left clear for a Protestant Scotland. Her son James, who would inherit the English throne, was no Catholic, and Knox showed his approval by preaching at the child’s coronation in 1567.

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