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[[File: John Knox statue, Haddington.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Statue of John Knox]]
John Knox was a Scottish cleric, (1513-1572), who died in poverty and was largely forgotten. However, he was one of the most important figures in the history of Scotland and he changed that nation and his influence is still felt to this day. He was the leader of the Scottish Reformation and an influential theologian.
Knox was also very important in the politics of the time and he played a pivotal role in the political evolution of Scotland and the British Isles. This article will argue that John Knox overthrew Catholicism in Scotland, helped to establish Presbyterianism, paved the way for the unification of Scotland and England and the emergence of the United Kingdom.
====John Knox and Mary, Queen of Scots====
Mary Queen of Scots was a committed Catholic and like her namesake Mary , I of England tried to restore Catholicism. As the monarch, she was the divinely anointed ruler of the kingdom. Her support for Catholicism was a real threat to the continued growth of Protestantism in the realm. By this date, the Church in Scotland was ‘reformed’ and Mary was its head. However, the Queen was openly sympathetic to the Papacy and openly held mass at her castle, which was contrary to the laws of the land. Knox publicly denounced her and her Catholic faith. In a series of interviews, Mary tried to intimidate Knox and persuade him that she as Queen could practice her faith and that she was not a threat to the Church of Scotland.
Knox was one of Mary’s chief critics during the controversy over the assassination of her husband, Lord Darnley.<ref> Warnicke, Retha. M, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415291836/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415291836&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5895d801467472265e647472b39f5077 Mary Queen of Scots], (New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 134</ref> He openly denounced the queen when she married the chief suspect the notorious Earl of Boothby. Knox continued to rouse the opposition to Mary and he helped to persuade the Protestant nobles to depose Mary and placed her son, James on the throne. This they eventually did, and Knox was granted the honor of preaching a sermon at the coronation of James, who became James VI of Scotland. <ref>Warnicke, p. 119</ref> With the accession of James, the Reformation in Scotland was secure, and Catholicism was marginalized and confined to the remote Highlands and Islands.
====How did John Knox advance the development of Presbyterianism?====
The Scottish reformer decisively shaped the form of the Reformation in the kingdom. Prior to his meeting with Calvin, he was an adherent of the Anglican Church and influenced by its forms of Church governance and theology. He was much influenced by what he saw in Geneva where Calvin had reformed the Church and the City-State. The Scot did not imitate Calvin, but he was deeply impressed by what he saw.<ref>Kyle, Richard G., "John Knox: The Main Themes of His Thought", Princeton Seminary Bulletin 4, no. 2 (1983): 112 </ref> Knox adapted adopted the ideas of Calvin with regard to the Presbyterian form of church government, which is governed by representative assemblies of elders. He believed that this would not only to reform the Church but to ensure that people conformed to the teaching of the scriptures.
Knox 's interpretation of Calvin was crucial in the development of Presbyterianism and its theology.<ref>Dawson, p. 119</ref> He helped to transmit the ideas of Calvin on the Church government to Scotland and England. Indeed, the Scottish Reformer was a pivotal influence on the development of English Puritanism. The Scottish Presbyterian Church was spread by migrating Scots to Northern Ireland, America, and Canada and from here it spread all over the globe. None of this would have been possible without the ideas of John Knox. Even though he did not want to establish a new Church he can be regarded as one of the founders of the Presbyterian Churches around the world.
====Knox and Scotland in Europe====
The outcome of this was that under James VI of Scotland that there was a rapprochement between Edinburgh and London. The two realms as Protestant kingdoms believed that they had a common foe in Catholic Spain and France.<ref>Devine,p. 245</ref> There were to be no further wars between Scotland and England during the reign of James VI. When Elizabeth I died, her powerful minister Cecil was able to engineer the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England in 1603. This led to the unification of the crowns of England and Scotland and this was to ultimately lay the foundation for the establishment of the United Kingdom in 1707. The dramatic change in the relationship between Scotland and England was in no small measure a result of John Knox, who was a key figure in the success of the Scottish Reformation.
====Conclusion====
John Knox was a giant of Scottish history and indeed in the history of the Reformation. He was a key reason for the success of the Scottish Reformation and in the development of the Church of Scotland. He was also significant in that he ensured that the Church was influenced by Calvinism in its governance and theology. Knox’s encounter with Calvin was ultimately the origin of the Presbyterian Church, which is a worldwide movement.
Without Knox and his defiance of Mary Queen of Scots, the kingdom could have reverted to Catholicism. His singular bravery ensured that ultimately Scotland was to remain a Protestant state. This, in turn, was to draw Edinburgh away from its old alliance with France. Over time this led to a growing alliance between Scotland and England and ultimately the union of the two realms in the person of James I, a union which that has persisted to the present day. <div class="portal" style='float:right; width:35%'>====Related Articles===={{#dpl:category=Religious History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=8}}</div>
====References====
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[[Category: Religious History]] [[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:British History]] [[Category:Reformation]]
