JOHN KNOX
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Probably born near Haddington some 30 kms east of Edinburgh around 1514 though some say it was earlier
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He came from middle-class parents
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His father died at the battle of Flodden
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He commenced studies at the University of St Andrews in 1532
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He was cognisant of Latin, and French and when 40 years of age mastered Hebrew
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Knox graduated from University of St. Andrews in 1536
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He became a priest in 1540 and also practised law from then as an apostolic notary.
He also became a tutor
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Around 1545 that he came to be associated with George Wishart as Wishart set out on a preaching tour of Lothian. Knox admired his views, became a Protestant and at times acted as his bodyguard
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After Cardinal Beaton of St. Andrews had George Wishart burnt at the stake outside the castle in March 1545.
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Knox by this time was living in St. Andrews as a tutor to sons of a rich lord. He became a spokesman and protagonist for the Reformed church.
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Knox was persuaded to commence preaching. His first sermon was in the Holy
Trinity Church on the subject of Daniel 7. From this time onward he was convinced the Lord had called him to preach. Of his hundreds of sermons only two were ever published
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At this time the Catholic Church owned more than half the real estate of
Scotland and received an annual income 18 times that of the crown
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In 1547, Knox and others in the Castle of St. Andrews were captured by the French who had come to the aid of the governor of Scotland.
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John Knox was taken prisoner and served for 19 months in the French galleys as a slave
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During this time he contracted a kidney infection and stomach ulcers - health problems that stayed with him for the rest of his life
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While in the galleys, an attempt was made to have the Protestant prisoners acknowledge Mary the mother of Jesus. Their galley was named "Notre Dame" (Our
Lady) and during the celebration of Mass while the ship was at Nantes, the Salve
Regina (Hail holy Queen) was sung and a little statue of Mary brought around for all to kiss. Knox refused but it was thrust in his face. Later when no one was looking, he threw the statue overboard saying, "Now let Our Lady save herself!"
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By 1548 England was becoming Protestant under Edward VI and Knox could not return to Scotland under Catholic leadership, so he began preaching in England - at
Berwick on the Tweed. Here he would have met Marjory Bowes whom he later married
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Once a would-be assassin fired a shot through the window where he usually sat with his back to the street. That night, he had sat in another chair, and the bullet passed through the chair he usually sat in, and then through the chandelier
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Truly it could be said of Knox that he provoked rulers, incited riots and inspired a reformation in Scotland
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Knox helped shape the articles of the Church of England and the part of the book of
Common Prayer that denies the actual body of Christ in the read of the Communion
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Knox became an initiator of English Puritanism

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He became the royal chaplain and preached to audiences with very distinguished listeners
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He was offered the bishopric of Rochester but declined. When called before the
Privy Council which expressed its regret over his declining the invitation, and its sadness that he was of a contrary mind; he said he was more sorry that a common order should be contrary to Christ's institution. He disputed the practice of kneeling at communion
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When Mary Tudor became the Sovereign, Knox was one of the last to flee to the continent of Europe in 1553
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Knox became the opposer of three queens or leaders - Mary of Guise who was the
Regent of Scotland (1554 - 1560), Mary Queen of Scots (1561 - 1567) who summoned Knox five times, and Mary Tudor (1553- 1558) the object of his first blast
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To prevent the Reformation being dictated by one ruler, he preached the right of subjects etc to resist by force, a ruler who threatened the safety of 'true religion'
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The next year on the urging of John Calvin, Knox became the minister to English
Puritan refugees in Frankfurt.
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In 1555 after being in Frankfurt just a few months, a dispute arose over liturgy and he moved to Geneva
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He returned secretly to Scotland and married Marjory Bowes - despite the lack of her father's approval
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In 1556 he is condemned for heresy in Scotland and returns to Geneva with his wife and mother-in-law
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While in Geneva he was associated with Calvin and learned much from him, staying in Geneva for five years
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In 1558 he wrote "The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women"
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In 1559, after Mary Queen of Scots had summoned the leaders of the Protestant faith to appear before her on May 10, Knox was called from France to act as spokesperson for the Lairds and nobility of Scotland
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He stopped at Perth and preached a vehement sermon following which the friaries were sacked
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He celebrated the Lord's Supper and forbade attendance at the mass
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Know inspired he Scottish Protestants that year when it seemed that France would unite with the queen
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In 1560 he drafted the Scots Confession which was adopted by the Scottish
Parliament.
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His wife's mother continued to live with him after Marjory died in 1560 leaving Knox open to charges of scandalous and incestuous behaviour
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Knox helped shape the Scottish church, and in 1561 wrote the "first Book of
Discipline" the constitution of the Reformed Church and also he "Book of Common
Order" - its liturgy. It also recommended that every child in Scotland receive an elementary and a high school education - something not achieved for hundreds of years
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Queen Mary arrived in Scotland in 1561. Knox had four confrontations with her.
She tried to indict him for treason particularly when he preached against her proposed marriage with Don Carlos of Spain. The Privy Council would not convict him
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In 1564, some four years after his first wife Marjory died (and he being 50 years of age) married 17 year-old Margaret Stewart - a distant relative of Mary Queen of
Scots - his chief antagonist

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One of the ways the Reformation spread through Scotland was by 'Privy Kirks' - small groups that met for prayer and Bible study
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In 1566 he writes much of the "History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland"
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Knox suffered a paralytic stroke in 171. He preached one or twice after that - the last introducing his successor
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Know was always a controversial and colourful character - he died in Edinburgh Nov
24, 1572
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On his deathbed he asked his wife to read to him John 18 which he said was "where
I first cast my anchor"
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He is buried in the grounds of St. Giles Cathedral (under car park 44).
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At his burial the Regent of Scotland James Douglas said of him, “Here lies he who neither feared nor flattered any flesh ”.
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Today there are about 750,-000 Presbyterians in Scotland - twice the number in
Korea and over three million in the USA - and millions elsewhere around the world
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Scotland welcomed him wherever he went