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- Reformer and Founder of the Scottish Presbyterian Movement -

Imprisonment

The garrison of St. Andrew’s castle, bombarded from without and assailed by plague within, capitulated on terms that were not kept. Knox, together with the other prisoners, was carried off to slave in the French galleys. For nearly two years,  he endured  tremendous hardship on board. While this was a time of great physical suffering, it was also a time of great strengthening spiritually.  Though English intervention secured his release 19 months later,  Knox suffered permanent ill-health as a result of the imprisonment.

Ministry in England

Upon his release, Knox was allowed to depart for England.  He spent the next few years preaching in Berwick and Newcastle, and serving briefly as one of Edward VI’s chaplains.   Those were fruitful years of great activity and blessings.  He brought order to the turbulent garrison town of Berwick-upon-Tweed and established a congregation on Puritan lines.  It was here that he met Marjorie Bowes, who was to become his wife.   During this period, he came into close contact with Cranmer and other like-minded English reformers.  Knox helped to prepare the second Book of Common Prayer, but he declined a bishopric in the newly-established Church of England.

Years in Exile

In 1553,  King Edward VI died and was succeeded by his sister Mary I, an ardent Catholic.  Her ascension to the throne drove Knox and others to continental Europe.  He lived chiefly in Geneva and Frankfurt.   In Geneva he consulted with John Calvin on questions of church doctrine and civil authority.
Meanwhile, through his frequent letters, he exerted considerable influence among Protestants in England and Scotland; in his “Faithful Admonition” pamphlet of 1554 he began to urge the duty of the righteous to overthrow “ungodly” monarchs.
Towards the end of 1555, he made a quick visit to Scotland, where he did much to encourage the cause of Reformation.  Convinced, however, that the time of deliverance had not yet come for his country, he retired once more to Geneva, where he began to pastor the first true Puritan church.  His three years there were among the quietest and probably the happiest of his life.

The Scottish Reformation

In 1557, the Scottish Protestant nobles signed their First Covenant, banding together to form the group known as the lords of the congregation.  Two years later, when Mary of Guise moved against the Protestants, this newly-formed group took up arms and invited Knox back from Geneva to lead them.  Knox’s passionate preaching kindled the flame of religious revolution, aggravating the civil war already raging.

At length, England’s intervention and Mary’s death brought matters to a crisis; a truce was proclaimed, and a free parliament was summoned to settle differences.  In  August 1560, Scotland was declared Protestant by an act of Parliament.  Under Knox’s direction, a National Reformed Church was established, a confession of faith (basically Calvinist) was drawn up and passed by the Scottish Parliament, which also passed laws abolishing the authority of the pope and condemning all creeds and practices of the old religion.
While all of this was going on, the youthful Mary, Queen of Scots, was living in France with her husband.   When he died, Mary was allowed to return to Scotland in 1561 on the condition that she did not attempt to bring back the Roman Catholic mass to Scotland.  Knowing her character and well-known devotion to the Roman church, Knox saw her as a threat to the cause of the Reformation.  As Knox expected, Mary did not keep to the agreement and was soon using every available subterfuge to promote Catholic influence throughout Scotland.
Sadly, many Protestant lords deserted Knox and his cause, and some even allied themselves with the new queen.  From his pulpit and in personal debates with the queen, Knox fearlessly defied her authority and thundered against her religion.  The queen’s marriage to Lord Darnley, her suspected complicity in his murder, and her hasty marriage to James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, stirred the Protestant lords to revolt.  In 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of her young son, James.  Her defeat and imprisonment once again allowed Knox to actively promote the cause of the Reformation.  Although Mary later made several attempts to regain the throne, her influence was now effectively over.  This left Knox to concentrate on his preaching and pastoring work in St Giles, Edinburgh.

Death

A few days after he preached his last sermon on 9 November 1572, Knox was taken ill.  “Weary of the world,” he went home to his beloved Saviour on 24 November 1572.

Conclusion

Despite the ill health of his last years, Knox continued to be an outspoken preacher until his death. It has been said of Knox that “rarely has any country produced a stronger will.”  His single-minded zeal made him the outstanding leader of the Scottish Reformation and an important influence on the Protestant movements in England and on the Continent.