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John Knox statue on
the former John Knox Memorial Institute, Haddington. The religious reformer is
believed to have been born in the town's Giffordgate.
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John Knox (c. 1514 – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish
clergyman and writer who was a leader of the Protestant
Reformation and is considered the founder of the Presbyterian
denomination in Scotland. He is believed to have been educated at the University
of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early church
reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish
church. He was caught up in the ecclesiastical and political events that involved
the murder of Cardinal Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the regent of
Scotland Mary of Guise. He was taken prisoner by French forces the following
year and exiled to England on his release in 1549.
While in exile, Knox was licensed to
work in the Church of England,
where he rose in the ranks to serve King Edward VI of
England as a royal chaplain. He exerted a reforming influence on the
text of the Book of Common
Prayer. In England he met and married his first wife, Margery
Bowes. When Mary Tudor
ascended the throne and re-established Roman Catholicism, Knox was forced to
resign his position and leave the country. Knox moved to Geneva and then to Frankfurt.
In Geneva he met John Calvin, from
whom he gained experience and knowledge of Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity.
He created a new order of service, which was eventually adopted by the reformed
church in Scotland. He left Geneva to head the English refugee church in Frankfurt but he
was forced to leave over differences concerning the liturgy, thus ending his association with
the Church of England.
On his return to Scotland he led the Protestant
Reformation in Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Protestant
nobility.
The movement may be seen as a revolution, since it led to the ousting of Mary
of Guise, who governed the country in the name of her young daughter Mary, Queen of
Scots. Knox helped write the new confession of faith and the ecclesiastical
order for the newly created reformed church, the Kirk.
He continued to serve as the religious leader of the Protestants throughout
Mary's reign. In several interviews with the Queen, Knox admonished her for
supporting Catholic practices. When she was imprisoned for her alleged role in
the murder of her husband Lord Darnley,
and King James VI
enthroned in her stead, he openly called for her execution. He continued to
preach until his final days.
