-24 November) - the largest Scottish religious reformer of the 16th century, who laid the foundations of the Presbyterian Church.
Youth
John Knox was born into a family of poor gentry in the Haddington suburb of Lothian. He also received his primary school education there. In 1522 he entered the University of Glasgow, and in 1531 he entered the University of St. Andrews, where he studied with the famous theologian John Major. In addition to basic teaching, Knox became interested in researching the history of Scripture. He knew Greek and Hebrew, which helped him in the study of religious texts, and also studied the works of the first Christian philosophers: Augustine and Jerome. In the early 1540s. he was ordained a Catholic priest and began service in one of the parish churches of Lothian.
Last period of life
John Knox returned to Scotland shortly before the overthrow of Mary Stuart in the city. It was he who was entrusted with the organization of worship during the coronation of the queen's son, one-year-old James VI. The new government of Regent Moray, although proclaiming a course for the implementation of Protestant reforms, however, did not need Knox's radicalism. Therefore, the most influential Scottish reformer did not take his rightful place in the new system of government, remaining the parish priest of the church of St. Giles. In the city, when supporters of the deposed Mary Stuart captured Edinburgh, John Knox was forced to move to St. Andrews. He returned to the capital only in the city, on the eve of his death.
John Knox, striking contemporaries with his devout religious feeling and inability to compromise with conscience, became almost a prophet for the Scots. The Presbyterian Church finally took shape after the death of Knox, at the end of the 16th century, but it was he who became its founding father.
A descendant of Knox was U.S. President James Knox Polk.
Write a review on "Knox, John"
Literature
- Laing, David, ed. (1895) The Works of John Knox, Edinburgh: James Thin, 55 South Bridge , .
- Melville, James (1829) Diary of James Melville, Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club , .
- Guy, John (2004) My Heart is my Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, London: Fourth Estate, ISBN 9781841157528 .
- Kingdon, Robert M. (1995), "Calvinism and resistance theory, 1550–1580", in Burns, J.H., The Cambridge History of Political Thought 1450–1700, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521477727.
- MacGregor, Geddes (1957) The Thundering Scot, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, OCLC.
- Marshall, Rosalind (2000) John Knox, Edinburgh: Birlinn, ISBN 9781841580913 .
- Reid, W. Stanford (1974) Trumpeter of God, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 0-684-13782-8 .
- Ridley, Jasper (1968) John Knox, Oxford: Clarendon Press, OCLC.
- Warnicke, Retha. M. (2006), Mary Queen of Scots, New York: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-29183-6 .
Notes
Links
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. , 1907-1909.
Excerpt characterizing Knox, John
The historical sea, unlike before, was directed by gusts from one coast to another: it seethed in the depths. Historical figures, not as before, were carried in waves from one coast to another; now they seemed to circle in one place. Historical figures, who previously at the head of the troops reflected the movement of the masses with the orders of wars, campaigns, battles, now reflected the seething movement with political and diplomatic considerations, laws, treatises ...Historians call this activity of historical persons reaction.
Describing the activities of these historical figures, who, in their opinion, were the cause of what they call reaction, historians condemn them severely. All the famous people of that time, from Alexander and Napoleon to mme Stael, Photius, Schelling, Fichte, Chateaubriand, etc., are put before their strict judgment and are justified or condemned, according to whether they contributed to progress or reaction.
In Russia, according to their description, a reaction also took place during this period of time, and the main culprit of this reaction was Alexander I - the same Alexander I, who, according to their own descriptions, was the main culprit of the liberal undertakings of his reign and the salvation of Russia.
In real Russian literature, from a schoolboy to a learned historian, there is no person who would not throw his stone at Alexander I for his wrong actions during this period of his reign.
“He should have done this and that. In this case, he did well, in this badly. He behaved well at the beginning of his reign and during the 12th year; but he acted badly, giving a constitution to Poland, creating a Holy Alliance, giving power to Arakcheev, encouraging Golitsyn and mysticism, then encouraging Shishkov and Photius. He did badly, being engaged in the front part of the army; he acted badly, cashiering the Semyonovsky regiment, etc.”
It would be necessary to fill out ten sheets in order to list all the reproaches that historians make to him on the basis of the knowledge of the good of mankind that they possess.
What do these accusations mean?
The very actions for which historians approve of Alexander I - such as: the liberal undertakings of the reign, the struggle with Napoleon, the firmness shown by him in the 12th year, and the campaign of the 13th year, do not follow from the same sources - the conditions of blood , upbringing, life, which made the personality of Alexander what it was - from which those actions follow, for which historians blame him, such as: the Holy Alliance, the restoration of Poland, the reaction of the 20s?
What is the essence of these accusations?
In the fact that such a historical person as Alexander I is, a person who stood at the highest possible level of human power, as if in the focus of the blinding light of all the historical rays concentrating on him; a person who was subject to those strongest influences in the world of intrigue, deceit, flattery, self-delusion, which are inseparable from power; a person who felt on himself, every minute of his life, responsibility for everything that happened in Europe, and a person not invented, but living, like every person, with his personal habits, passions, aspirations for goodness, beauty, truth - that this person , fifty years ago, not only was it not virtuous (historians do not reproach for this), but did not have those views on the good of mankind that a professor now has, who is engaged in science from a young age, that is, reading books, lectures and copying these books and lectures in one notebook.
But even if we assume that Alexander I was mistaken fifty years ago in his view of what is the good of the peoples, we must involuntarily assume that the historian who judges Alexander, in the same way, after some time has passed, will turn out to be unfair in his view of that which is the good of mankind. This assumption is all the more natural and necessary because, following the development of history, we see that every year, with every new writer, the view of what is the good of mankind changes; so that what seemed good ten years later seems to be evil; and vice versa. Moreover, at the same time we find in history completely opposite views on what was evil and what was good: some of the constitution and the Holy Alliance given to Poland are credited, others reproach Alexander.
It is impossible to say about the activity of Alexander and Napoleon that it was useful or harmful, because we cannot say for what it is useful and for what it is harmful. If someone does not like this activity, then he does not like it only because it does not coincide with his limited understanding of what is good. Whether the preservation of my father's house in Moscow in the 12th year, or the glory of the Russian troops, or the prosperity of St. Petersburg and other universities, or the freedom of Poland, or the power of Russia, or the balance of Europe, or a certain kind of European enlightenment - progress, I must admit that the activity of every historical person had, in addition to these goals, other goals that were more general and inaccessible to me.
But let us suppose that so-called science has the possibility of reconciling all contradictions and has an invariable measure of good and bad for historical persons and events.
Let us assume that Alexander could have done everything differently. Let us assume that he could, at the behest of those who accuse him, those who profess the knowledge of the ultimate goal of the movement of mankind, dispose of according to the program of nationality, freedom, equality and progress (there seems to be no other) that the present accusers would give him. Let us assume that this program would have been possible and drawn up, and that Alexander would have acted according to it. What would have happened then to the activities of all those people who opposed the then direction of the government - to the activities that, according to historians, are good and useful? This activity would not exist; there would be no life; there would be nothing.
If we assume that human life can be controlled by reason, then the possibility of life will be destroyed.
If one assumes, as historians do, that great men lead mankind to certain goals, which are either the greatness of Russia or France, or the equilibrium of Europe, or the spreading of the ideas of the revolution, or general progress, or whatever it is, it is impossible to explain the phenomena of history without the concepts of chance and genius.
If the goal of the European wars of the beginning of this century was the greatness of Russia, then this goal could be achieved without all the previous wars and without invasion. If the goal is the greatness of France, then this goal could be achieved without a revolution, and without an empire. If the goal is to spread ideas, then printing would do it much better than soldiers. If the goal is the progress of civilization, then it is quite easy to assume that, in addition to the destruction of people and their wealth, there are other more expedient ways for the spread of civilization.
Why did it happen this way and not otherwise?
Because that's how it happened. “Chance made the situation; genius took advantage of it,” says history.
But what is a case? What is a genius?
The words chance and genius do not designate anything really existing and therefore cannot be defined. These words only denote a certain degree of understanding of phenomena. I don't know why such a phenomenon occurs; I think I can't know; therefore I do not want to know and I say: chance. I see a force producing an action disproportionate to universal human properties; I don’t understand why this is happening, and I say: genius.
For a herd of rams, that ram, which every evening is driven off by a shepherd into a special stall to feed and becomes twice as thick as the others, must seem like a genius. And the fact that every evening this very ram ends up not in a common sheepfold, but in a special stall for oats, and that this very same ram, drenched in fat, is killed for meat, must seem like an amazing combination of genius with a whole series of extraordinary accidents. .
But sheep need only stop thinking that everything that is done to them is only to achieve their sheep goals; it is worth admitting that the events happening to them may have goals that are incomprehensible to them - and they will immediately see unity, consistency in what happens to the fattened ram. If they do not know for what purpose he was fattening, then at least they will know that everything that happened to the ram did not happen by accident, and they will no longer need the concept of either chance or genius.
Only by renouncing the knowledge of a close, understandable goal and recognizing that the ultimate goal is inaccessible to us, we will see consistency and expediency in the life of historical figures; we will discover the reason for the action that they produce, disproportionate to universal human properties, and we will not need the words chance and genius.
One has only to admit that the purpose of the unrest of the European peoples is unknown to us, and only the facts are known, consisting in murders, first in France, then in Italy, in Africa, in Prussia, in Austria, in Spain, in Russia, and that movements from the west to east and from east to west constitute the essence and purpose of these events, and not only will we not need to see the exclusivity and genius in the characters of Napoleon and Alexander, but it will be impossible to imagine these faces otherwise than as the same people as everyone else; and not only will it not be necessary to explain by chance those small events that made these people what they were, but it will be clear that all these small events were necessary.
Having renounced the knowledge of the ultimate goal, we will clearly understand that just as it is impossible to invent for any plant other colors and seeds more appropriate to it than those that it produces, in the same way it is impossible to invent two other people, with everything their past, which would correspond to such an extent, to such smallest details, to the appointment that they were supposed to fulfill.
The basic, essential meaning of the European events at the beginning of this century is the militant movement of the masses of the European peoples from west to east and then from east to west. The first instigator of this movement was the movement from west to east. In order for the peoples of the West to be able to make that militant movement to Moscow, which they did, it was necessary: 1) that they should be formed into a militant group of such a size that would be able to endure a clash with the militant group of the East; 2) that they renounce all established traditions and habits, and 3) that, in making their militant movement, they should have at their head a man who, both for himself and for them, could justify the deceptions, robberies and murders that accompanied this movement.
And since the French Revolution, the old, insufficiently great group has been destroyed; old habits and traditions are destroyed; step by step, a group of new dimensions, new habits and traditions are worked out, and that person is being prepared who must stand at the head of the future movement and bear all the responsibility of those who have to be accomplished.
A man without convictions, without habits, without traditions, without a name, not even a Frenchman, by the most strange accidents, it seems, moves between all the parties that excite France and, without sticking to any of them, is brought to a conspicuous place.
The ignorance of his comrades, the weakness and insignificance of opponents, the sincerity of lies and the brilliant and self-confident narrow-mindedness of this man put him at the head of the army. The brilliant composition of the soldiers of the Italian army, the unwillingness to fight opponents, childish audacity and self-confidence gain him military glory. An innumerable number of so-called accidents accompanies him everywhere. The disfavor into which he falls with the rulers of France serves him well. His attempts to change the path destined for him fail: he is not accepted for service in Russia, and his assignment to Turkey fails. During the wars in Italy, he is several times on the verge of death and each time he is saved in an unexpected way. Russian troops, the very ones that can destroy his glory, for various diplomatic reasons, do not enter Europe as long as he is there.
John Knox
John Knox - the founder of the Scottish Presbyterian Church and "the uncrowned head of the Scottish Protestants" - was born around 1505 into a poor family in the village of Gifford, near Gaddington. He was educated at the Scottish Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews, after which he taught philosophy at St. Andrews. Even before his canonical age, Knox was ordained a priest, but his career in this capacity did not last long. At that time, the church represented a significant political and economic force in Scotland.
It is believed that up to half of all Scottish lands were in the hands of clerics. The prelates had a majority in parliament and occupied the most important government posts. However, the advantages of the exclusive position were very badly used by them. The Scottish clergy were distinguished by the depravity of morals and even licentiousness. Many prelates lived away from their dioceses and abbeys, indulged in feasting, hunting, and without any shame endowed their illegitimate children with rich income items. Both the lay and monastic clergy were in barbaric ignorance. As a result, the authority of the church fell extremely low, and when the ideas of the Reformation began to penetrate into Scotland, they found fertile ground here. Signs of a future upheaval appeared around 1525. Then Parliament, under the threat of severe punishment, banned the import of Lutheran books into the country. But this measure turned out to be ineffective - they had to resort to more abrupt ones: arrests and executions. The first Scottish martyr for the Reformation was Patrick Hamilton, who was burned in St. Andrew in 1528. However, his courageous death only strengthened the spirit of his followers - ten years later, most of the nobles and townspeople began to lean towards the Reformation.
The conversion of John Knox took place at the same time, in the 1530s. Convinced of the correctness of the Protestant doctrine, he left his teaching career in St. Andrews and took refuge in the south of Scotland as a home teacher in the Douglas family. The next ten years of his life were spent in complete obscurity.
If he then spoke with sermons, then only before small groups of fellow believers. He did not consider himself capable of more and did not impose his views on anyone. It took a strong external influence to turn an unknown teacher into a people's tribune. In 1542, the Scottish king James V died, approving the idea of reforming the church. After him, the only heir remained - the young Mary Stuart. She spent her childhood and youth in France - in the homeland of her mother, nee Duchess de Guise. In her absence, the Earl of Arran became regent. At first, he favored the Reformation and even allowed the free sale of the Bible in Scotch translation. But this era of religious liberalism did not last long. At the head of the Scottish church then stood the intelligent and energetic Cardinal James Beaton, a man with an outstanding statesmanship, but too zealous and cruel Catholic. Soon he managed to completely seize the confidence of the regent and turn him away from the Protestant doctrine. The persecution of the reformers resumed. The prominent Protestant preacher at that time was George Wizart, who turned many Scots away from Catholicism. Beaton succeeded in obtaining his conviction, and in 1546 the unfortunate man was burned at the stake under the walls of the cardinal's castle of St. Andrews.
This cruel massacre prompted the Protestants to retaliate. The following year, 16 nobles, led by Norman Leslie, made their way into the castle, stabbed the cardinal with daggers, and hung his corpse on the wall. Now the neighboring nobles joined the daredevils, so that the murder of Beaton served as a signal for a real uprising. The Regent, with French auxiliaries, began the siege. Among those then established at St. Andrews was Knox's householder.
Thus, he also ended up in this castle. This is where his gift as a preacher manifested itself. Once the besieged gathered for a common prayer. After her, the preacher told those present that among them, too, there were likely to be people capable of preaching. In this terrible time of persecution, he continued, every person with the heart and talent of a priest should preach. “Does not one of us, namely John Knox, have such a talent and such a heart? - asked the preacher, addressing everyone. “What, then, is his duty?”
Those present answered in the affirmative: John Knox is a real preacher, if he continues to remain silent, then he should be treated like a coward who left his post in the hour of trial. This harsh sentence shocked Knox. He got up from his seat and tried to justify himself, but could not utter a word - tears gushed from him in a stream, and he rushed out of their chapels. For several days after this, Knox experienced an extremely difficult state; he felt how insignificant his abilities were compared to the greatness of the new duty. But gradually he mastered his weakness and became a true spiritual father for the castle garrison.
In the end, constrained by superior enemy forces, the defenders of St. Andrews had to capitulate. Together with other prisoners, Knox was sent to the French galleys carrying goods along the Loire River. Once, some officer or priest placed an image of the Mother of God in front of the galleys and demanded that they bow to him. Many obediently complied with this demand, but when the turn came to Knox, he exclaimed: “Mother of God, you say? No, not the Mother of God at all; it is a piece of painted wood, adapted for swimming rather than for worship!” And he threw the icon into the river.
In 1548, at the request of the English king Edward VI, Knox was released from captivity and spent two years as a preacher in Berwick, where he was appointed by the English government. He could well achieve a high position in the Anglican Church, but he rejected all lucrative offers. The English Reformation seemed to him wholly insufficient. Knox resented the innumerable vestiges of Catholicism both in worship and in the very structure of the Anglican Church. After the throne passed to Edward's sister, Mary I, a fierce Catholic, Knox went to Geneva in 1554. Here he entered into close relations with Calvin and for the first time engaged in a systematic study of theology.
However, even Calvinism seemed to Knox to be an insufficiently pure evangelical religion.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, power passed to the Queen Mother Mary of Guise. Trying to achieve good relations with the Protestants, she allowed them to return from exile. In 1555 Knox returned to his fatherland and began to preach Calvinism. The fearlessness with which he denounced the Catholic clergy and the mighty of the world seemed amazing. In this respect, he resembled the Old Testament prophets. He was also distinguished by intolerance and a severe adherence to the truth of the Lord. On all those who did not recognize this truth, he, like a prophet, brought down merciless anger. The introduction of the Reformation Knox began with the organization of local communities - the congregation, where worship was held according to the Calvinist rite. Everyone who entered the community took a vow to have nothing to do with Roman idolatry and strictly observe the Word of God, even if it cost him his life.
Watching the activities of Knox, which threatened her with a complete loss of power, Mary of Guise was soon to abandon her indulgence. The persecution of Protestants resumed. Knox, convicted as a heretic, was forced to leave Scotland for the second time. He returned back only in 1559, when relations between Catholics and Protestants escalated to the limit. The country was on the brink of civil war. To start it, the Protestants lacked only a leader. With the return of Knox, he appeared to them. This man was as if created in order to preach the Reformation. He possessed an iron will, a strong character, and for all this he was completely insensitive to everything that was outside his goals and aspirations. Distinguished by a dry and straightforward mind, alien to all mystical aspirations, domineering and intolerant, he always strove for only one thing - the unconditional fulfillment of the Word of God in the sense in which he understood it. No sooner had he set foot on the soil of Scotland than Knox delivered an impassioned sermon in Perth on the sin of idolatry. Immediately after this speech, local residents rushed to smash the statues and architectural decorations in their cathedral. Their example was followed by the Scots in neighboring towns. The reform movement took on the character of a popular revolution.
Monasteries and abbeys were destroyed everywhere. A few days later, the rebellion spread to most of the state. Many churches were devastated, about 200 monasteries were destroyed, the Catholic mass was canceled everywhere and the liturgy of Edward VI was introduced. Then the war began with the regent and the Catholic party. The Protestants won one victory after another and finally forced the supporters of the queen, besieged in Leyte, to capitulate. In June 1560, Mary of Guise died. The Scottish Parliament that convened after that, to which real political power passed, announced the abolition of the supremacy of the Pope over the Scottish Church, banned the celebration of the Catholic Mass and adopted the Protestant Confession.
In the same year, a convention of the Scottish clergy was held. He accepted into the business of church government the "Disciplinary Book" edited by Knox. Church reform in Scotland followed the Calvinist pattern. The hierarchy has been cancelled. All pastors were considered equal. Management in each community passed to an elected presbytery (church assembly), consisting of pastors and lay elders.
The supreme authority in the church was to be represented by the General Assembly, formed on the same principles. The organ, altars, crucifix, icons, candles, rosaries and other symbols of Catholic worship were definitely cancelled. The new church was named Presbyterian. She took a dominant position in the southern and central counties of Scotland. In the north of the country, where the Reformation was accomplished by the hands of the lords rather than the people, the changes were not so radical - bishops remained here, who later submitted to royal authority.
After the overthrow of Catholicism, Knox was given the first preaching place in the new church - in Edinburgh. Like Calvin in Geneva, he waged a stubborn war against the ease of morals in the capital and all kinds of amusements. His success in this direction turned out to be more modest than that of his Geneva counterpart, but there were reasons for this. In 1561, Queen Mary Stuart returned to Scotland after a long absence. It was hard to imagine a worse neighborhood for Knox. Maria was a beautiful and intelligent woman, but petty, sensual and vain. She adored secular pleasures and did not hide her Catholic sympathies. Naturally, Knox immediately stood in opposition to the young queen. Instead of a welcoming speech, he greeted Mary with the pamphlet "The First Trumpet Against the Monstrous Rule of the Kingdom of Women", in which he called the Scottish Queen "the new Jezebel."
Trying to soften this irreconcilable old man, Mary invited him to the palace to the dinner table. However, Knox refused. “You'd better come to church to listen to my sermons, if you want to turn to the true path,” he answered. From now on, Knox ended all his sermons with the same phrase addressed to the people: “God! Deliver us from tyranny and the harlot!" When meeting with the queen, Knox usually treated her cynically and rudely, read instructions to her eyes and often brought her to painful fits. He was a constant reproach to the cheerful and far from impeccable (even in terms of Catholic morality) royal court.
They write that, returning one day from the queen’s office, Knox met a lot of luxuriously dressed court ladies and said to them: “How beautiful you are now, but there will be a time when your bodies will become mud, and tender souls will be in the claws of devils!” This and similar antics of a stern Calvinist had to be resignedly endured by the courtiers.
In 1567, after the deposition of Mary Stuart and her flight to England, power in Scotland passed to her young son James VI. Knox's relations with the court party did not improve after this. In the end, the enemies succeeded in removing him from Edinburgh. He returned to his post only in 1572, shortly before his death. They say that in the last minute of his life, when he could no longer speak, he was asked. "Are you hopeful?" (It was understood: for one's chosenness and salvation). In response, Knox raised his finger, pointed them up, and so died.
G.), - the largest Scottish religious reformer of the 16th century, who laid the foundations of the Presbyterian Church.
Youth
John Knox was born into a family of poor gentry in the Haddington suburb of Lothian. Knox appears to have studied in his youth with the noted Scottish humanist John Major at the University of Glasgow. In the early 1540s. he was ordained a Catholic priest and began service in one of the parish churches of Lothian.
Probably under the influence of the sermons of George Wishart in the city, Knox converted to Protestantism. He became very close to Wishart and accompanied him on his tours of the country. However, at the end of Mr. Wishart was arrested by supporters of Cardinal Beaton and soon executed. In retaliation for Wishart's death, radical Protestants seized St. Andrews Castle and executed the cardinal. Knox arrived in St. Andrews and there began his career as a Protestant preacher.
At the end of the city, St. Andrews Castle was stormed by the French Expeditionary Force, the organizers of the assassination of the cardinal, and with him John Knox, were captured and sent to France to serve their sentence on the galleys. The one and a half year service in the galleys undermined the preacher's health, but did not change his views. It is said that when the French asked Knox to kiss the image of the Virgin Mary, seeking to force him to renounce Protestantism, he threw it into the sea with the words " let the Virgin Mary save herself, she is light enough and learn to swim».
John Knox in England, Switzerland and France
In the city of Knox, he received his freedom and went to England, where at that time the Protestant reforms of King Edward VI were actively implemented, which laid down the fundamental principles of the Anglican Church. Knox continued the work of the preacher, and independently of the official church organization. At this time, he was no longer satisfied with the episcopal system that was preserved in Anglicanism, Knox was increasingly inclined towards radical Calvinism, which denied the special priesthood of bishops.
After the death of Edward VI in the city, the Catholic Mary I Tudor entered the English throne. This prompted the emigration of English Protestants to the Continent. Knox left for Switzerland, where he settled in Geneva, the European center of Calvinism. He also periodically visited Scotland. During these trips, he succeeded in converting a large number of Scottish burgesses and nobles to Protestantism, as well as such influential aristocrats as the Earl of Argyll, Lord Lorne and Lord James Stewart. Moving further and further away from moderate Anglicanism, Knox, while living in Geneva, actively worked on the problem of predestination and published the pamphlet " Trumpets against the monstrous rule of women" (eng. The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women ), in which he came up with the idea of the harmfulness of female rulers of states (addressed primarily to contemporary queens of England and Scotland).
In Knox he moved to Dieppe, France, where he received news of the death of Mary Tudor and the accession of Elizabeth I. In England, favorable opportunities for the development of Protestantism again developed, but Queen Elizabeth I did not want to allow the author of Trumpet Tone into her possessions. Upon learning of the Queen's refusal to grant him permission to return to England, Knox stated that " England, refusing me, refusing a friend”, and arrived in Scotland on May 2.
Protestant revolution
May 11, 1559 John Knox preaching at St. John in Perth against Catholic idolatry and the illegitimacy of the reign of the regent of Scotland, Mary de Guise, caused an uprising of the townspeople, which quickly spread to other areas of Scotland and soon developed into Protestant revolution. Large Scottish barons (Argyll, Lord James Stewart, later Chatelero and Huntley) joined the rebels, an army was formed that captured Edinburgh. On the initiative of Knox, the rebels turned to England for help, and English troops were brought into the country. The war between the English and French armies in Scotland ended on July 6 with the Peace of Edinburgh and the evacuation of foreign troops from the country. The death on June 11, 1560 of Mary of Guise meant the victory of the revolution.
The Scottish Parliament, under the influence of John Knox, proclaimed at the end of 1560 a ban on Catholic doctrine and rites, adopted the Protestant creed, and approved the "Book of Discipline" on the order of Protestant worship. Thus Protestantism was established as the state religion of Scotland. The formation of a new church organization began, based on parish churches and a system of "supreintendants", designed to replace the episcopal structure (not fully implemented). It was during this period that Knox began work on his fundamental work " History of the Reformation”, which, thanks to the reforming passion invested in it, remained for several centuries one of the most influential works on Protestantism.
John Knox and Mary Stuart
The return of Queen Mary Stuart to Scotland was met with hostility by John Knox. The radical Protestants grouping around him demanded the Queen's marriage to one of their leaders, James Hamilton. Mary's refusal provoked an uprising of radical Protestants, which, however, was quickly suppressed by the government. Knox repeatedly met with the queen, but never found a common language with her. Knox's radicalism alienated some of his former supporters from him, who were not ready to recognize the doctrine of the right of the nation to overthrow the legitimate monarch proclaimed by the reformer.
John Knox
John Knox - the founder of the Scottish Presbyterian Church and "the uncrowned head of the Scottish Protestants" - was born around 1505 into a poor family in the village of Gifford, near Gaddington. He was educated at the Scottish Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews, after which he taught philosophy at St. Andrews. Even before his canonical age, Knox was ordained a priest, but his career in this capacity did not last long. At that time, the church represented a significant political and economic force in Scotland.
It is believed that up to half of all Scottish lands were in the hands of clerics. The prelates had a majority in parliament and occupied the most important government posts. However, the advantages of the exclusive position were very badly used by them. The Scottish clergy were distinguished by the depravity of morals and even licentiousness. Many prelates lived away from their dioceses and abbeys, indulged in feasting, hunting, and without any shame endowed their illegitimate children with rich income items. Both the lay and monastic clergy were in barbaric ignorance. As a result, the authority of the church fell extremely low, and when the ideas of the Reformation began to penetrate into Scotland, they found fertile ground here. Signs of a future upheaval appeared around 1525. Then Parliament, under the threat of severe punishment, banned the import of Lutheran books into the country. But this measure turned out to be ineffective - they had to resort to more abrupt ones: arrests and executions. The first Scottish martyr for the Reformation was Patrick Hamilton, who was burned in St. Andrew in 1528. However, his courageous death only strengthened the spirit of his followers - ten years later, most of the nobles and townspeople began to lean towards the Reformation.
The conversion of John Knox took place at the same time, in the 1530s. Convinced of the correctness of the Protestant doctrine, he left his teaching career in St. Andrews and took refuge in the south of Scotland as a home teacher in the Douglas family. The next ten years of his life were spent in complete obscurity.
If he then spoke with sermons, then only before small groups of fellow believers. He did not consider himself capable of more and did not impose his views on anyone. It took a strong external influence to turn an unknown teacher into a people's tribune. In 1542, the Scottish king James V died, approving the idea of reforming the church. After him, the only heir remained - the young Mary Stuart. She spent her childhood and youth in France - in the homeland of her mother, nee Duchess de Guise. In her absence, the Earl of Arran became regent. At first, he favored the Reformation and even allowed the free sale of the Bible in Scotch translation. But this era of religious liberalism did not last long. At the head of the Scottish church then stood the intelligent and energetic Cardinal James Beaton, a man with an outstanding statesmanship, but too zealous and cruel Catholic. Soon he managed to completely seize the confidence of the regent and turn him away from the Protestant doctrine. The persecution of the reformers resumed. The prominent Protestant preacher at that time was George Wizart, who turned many Scots away from Catholicism. Beaton succeeded in obtaining his conviction, and in 1546 the unfortunate man was burned at the stake under the walls of the cardinal's castle of St. Andrews.
This cruel massacre prompted the Protestants to retaliate. The following year, 16 nobles, led by Norman Leslie, made their way into the castle, stabbed the cardinal with daggers, and hung his corpse on the wall. Now the neighboring nobles joined the daredevils, so that the murder of Beaton served as a signal for a real uprising. The Regent, with French auxiliaries, began the siege. Among those then established at St. Andrews was Knox's householder.
Thus, he also ended up in this castle. This is where his gift as a preacher manifested itself. Once the besieged gathered for a common prayer. After her, the preacher told those present that among them, too, there were likely to be people capable of preaching. In this terrible time of persecution, he continued, every person with the heart and talent of a priest should preach. “Does not one of us, namely John Knox, have such a talent and such a heart? - asked the preacher, addressing everyone. “What, then, is his duty?”
Those present answered in the affirmative: John Knox is a real preacher, if he continues to remain silent, then he should be treated like a coward who left his post in the hour of trial. This harsh sentence shocked Knox. He got up from his seat and tried to justify himself, but could not utter a word - tears gushed from him in a stream, and he rushed out of their chapels. For several days after this, Knox experienced an extremely difficult state; he felt how insignificant his abilities were compared to the greatness of the new duty. But gradually he mastered his weakness and became a true spiritual father for the castle garrison.
In the end, constrained by superior enemy forces, the defenders of St. Andrews had to capitulate. Together with other prisoners, Knox was sent to the French galleys carrying goods along the Loire River. Once, some officer or priest placed an image of the Mother of God in front of the galleys and demanded that they bow to him. Many obediently complied with this demand, but when the turn came to Knox, he exclaimed: “Mother of God, you say? No, not the Mother of God at all; it is a piece of painted wood, adapted for swimming rather than for worship!” And he threw the icon into the river.
In 1548, at the request of the English king Edward VI, Knox was released from captivity and spent two years as a preacher in Berwick, where he was appointed by the English government. He could well achieve a high position in the Anglican Church, but he rejected all lucrative offers. The English Reformation seemed to him wholly insufficient. Knox resented the innumerable vestiges of Catholicism both in worship and in the very structure of the Anglican Church. After the throne passed to Edward's sister, Mary I, a fierce Catholic, Knox went to Geneva in 1554. Here he entered into close relations with Calvin and for the first time engaged in a systematic study of theology.
However, even Calvinism seemed to Knox to be an insufficiently pure evangelical religion.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, power passed to the Queen Mother Mary of Guise. Trying to achieve good relations with the Protestants, she allowed them to return from exile. In 1555 Knox returned to his fatherland and began to preach Calvinism. The fearlessness with which he denounced the Catholic clergy and the mighty of the world seemed amazing. In this respect, he resembled the Old Testament prophets. He was also distinguished by intolerance and a severe adherence to the truth of the Lord. On all those who did not recognize this truth, he, like a prophet, brought down merciless anger. The introduction of the Reformation Knox began with the organization of local communities - the congregation, where worship was held according to the Calvinist rite. Everyone who entered the community took a vow to have nothing to do with Roman idolatry and strictly observe the Word of God, even if it cost him his life.
Watching the activities of Knox, which threatened her with a complete loss of power, Mary of Guise was soon to abandon her indulgence. The persecution of Protestants resumed. Knox, convicted as a heretic, was forced to leave Scotland for the second time. He returned back only in 1559, when relations between Catholics and Protestants escalated to the limit. The country was on the brink of civil war. To start it, the Protestants lacked only a leader. With the return of Knox, he appeared to them. This man was as if created in order to preach the Reformation. He possessed an iron will, a strong character, and for all this he was completely insensitive to everything that was outside his goals and aspirations. Distinguished by a dry and straightforward mind, alien to all mystical aspirations, domineering and intolerant, he always strove for only one thing - the unconditional fulfillment of the Word of God in the sense in which he understood it. No sooner had he set foot on the soil of Scotland than Knox delivered an impassioned sermon in Perth on the sin of idolatry. Immediately after this speech, local residents rushed to smash the statues and architectural decorations in their cathedral. Their example was followed by the Scots in neighboring towns. The reform movement took on the character of a popular revolution.
Monasteries and abbeys were destroyed everywhere. A few days later, the rebellion spread to most of the state. Many churches were devastated, about 200 monasteries were destroyed, the Catholic mass was canceled everywhere and the liturgy of Edward VI was introduced. Then the war began with the regent and the Catholic party. The Protestants won one victory after another and finally forced the supporters of the queen, besieged in Leyte, to capitulate. In June 1560, Mary of Guise died. The Scottish Parliament that convened after that, to which real political power passed, announced the abolition of the supremacy of the Pope over the Scottish Church, banned the celebration of the Catholic Mass and adopted the Protestant Confession.
In the same year, a convention of the Scottish clergy was held. He accepted into the business of church government the "Disciplinary Book" edited by Knox. Church reform in Scotland followed the Calvinist pattern. The hierarchy has been cancelled. All pastors were considered equal. Management in each community passed to an elected presbytery (church assembly), consisting of pastors and lay elders.
The supreme authority in the church was to be represented by the General Assembly, formed on the same principles. The organ, altars, crucifix, icons, candles, rosaries and other symbols of Catholic worship were definitely cancelled. The new church was named Presbyterian. She took a dominant position in the southern and central counties of Scotland. In the north of the country, where the Reformation was accomplished by the hands of the lords rather than the people, the changes were not so radical - bishops remained here, who later submitted to royal authority.
After the overthrow of Catholicism, Knox was given the first preaching place in the new church - in Edinburgh. Like Calvin in Geneva, he waged a stubborn war against the ease of morals in the capital and all kinds of amusements. His success in this direction turned out to be more modest than that of his Geneva counterpart, but there were reasons for this. In 1561, Queen Mary Stuart returned to Scotland after a long absence. It was hard to imagine a worse neighborhood for Knox. Maria was a beautiful and intelligent woman, but petty, sensual and vain. She adored secular pleasures and did not hide her Catholic sympathies. Naturally, Knox immediately stood in opposition to the young queen. Instead of a welcoming speech, he greeted Mary with the pamphlet "The First Trumpet Against the Monstrous Rule of the Kingdom of Women", in which he called the Scottish Queen "the new Jezebel."
Trying to soften this irreconcilable old man, Mary invited him to the palace to the dinner table. However, Knox refused. “You'd better come to church to listen to my sermons, if you want to turn to the true path,” he answered. From now on, Knox ended all his sermons with the same phrase addressed to the people: “God! Deliver us from tyranny and the harlot!" When meeting with the queen, Knox usually treated her cynically and rudely, read instructions to her eyes and often brought her to painful fits. He was a constant reproach to the cheerful and far from impeccable (even in terms of Catholic morality) royal court.
They write that, returning one day from the queen’s office, Knox met a lot of luxuriously dressed court ladies and said to them: “How beautiful you are now, but there will be a time when your bodies will become mud, and tender souls will be in the claws of devils!” This and similar antics of a stern Calvinist had to be resignedly endured by the courtiers.
In 1567, after the deposition of Mary Stuart and her flight to England, power in Scotland passed to her young son James VI. Knox's relations with the court party did not improve after this. In the end, the enemies succeeded in removing him from Edinburgh. He returned to his post only in 1572, shortly before his death. They say that in the last minute of his life, when he could no longer speak, he was asked. "Are you hopeful?" (It was understood: for one's chosenness and salvation). In response, Knox raised his finger, pointed them up, and so died.
From the book Everyday Life in California during the Gold Rush by Crete LilianJohn Bidwell John Bidwell arrived in California in 1841
From the book of 100 great Jews author Shapiro MichaelJOHN VON NEYMANN (1903-1957) The Hungarian Jew John von Neumann was perhaps the last representative of a now vanishing breed of mathematicians who were equally at home in pure and applied mathematics (as in other areas of science and art). Belonging to
From the book of 100 great prisoners [with illustrations] author Ionina NadezhdaJohn Brown The name of John Brown, whose ancestors came to America from England in the 17th century in search of freedom of conscience and a democratic system, is associated with the struggle of American blacks for their rights. The future fighter for the liberation of blacks was born in 1800 in the state of Connecticut - the place
From the book London by Johnson. About the people who made the city that made the world author Johnson BorisJohn Wilkes Father of Liberty It was February 1768. England was then still in the grips of a mini-ice age, the Thames was frozen over again, it was hellishly cold in Westminster. One morning in a beautiful city mansion near Deans Yard, on the site of which
From the book Mysterious Disappearances. Mystery, secrets, clues author Dmitrieva Natalia YurievnaJohn Cabot This story took place five centuries ago. Over the years, its details have been erased. Only a few facts from the life of this navigator-discoverer remained, proving once again that since ancient times, sea voyages were full of dangers and unsolved problems.
From the book of Aces of illegal intelligence author Shvarev Nikolai AlexandrovichJOHN KERNROSS D. Cairncross was born in 1913 in Scotland. After Cambridge was admitted to the Foreign Office, from 1940 he became the personal secretary of Lord Hankey, who was directly related to the secret services. A lot of material was received from Cairncross about
From the book The Golden Age of Sea Robbery author Kopelev Dmitry NikolaevichSir John Captain William's youngest son, John, was born in 1532. After the death of his father, he conducted business jointly with his older brother. True, each of them retained its independence: William was engaged in business in Plymouth, and trade deals with the Canary Islands fell on John's shoulders.
From the book Geniuses and villains of Russia of the XVIII century author Arutyunov Sarkis ArtashesovichJOHN COOK Why did Cook fall in love with Russia and St. Petersburg so much? Of course, the modern reader will be interested to know what Cook actually did in St. Petersburg. But first, let's clarify that this is not an English sailor, explorer, cartographer and discoverer Cook (James Cook!),
From the book Donbass: Rus' and Ukraine. History essays author Buntovsky Sergey YurievichJohn Hughes The tsarist government stubbornly searched for capitalists so that they would establish iron and rail factories near the undefended southern borders of the empire. The fates of entrepreneurs and managers of Russian companies developed differently. Some, not knowing the technology, others,
From the book Famous Writers author Pernatiev Yury SergeevichJohn Steinbeck. Full name - Steinbeck John Ernst (02/27/1902 - 12/20/1968) American writer, Nobel Prize winner (1962). , "The winter of our anxiety"; story "Tortilla Flat Quarter", "About mice and
From the book Architects of the Computer World author Chastikov Arkady author From the book World History in Sayings and Quotes author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich From the book World History in Sayings and Quotes author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich From the book World History in Sayings and Quotes author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich From the book World History in Sayings and Quotes author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich