Knox Church

John Knox

(born c. 1514, near Haddington, East Lothian, Scot. — died Nov. 24, 1472, Edinburgh)

Knox Church was originally known as the Second Presbyterian Church. When the new church was built, the name was changed to Knox Church, after John Knox.

John Knox was a Scottish clergyman, leader of the Scottish Reformation and founder of Scottish Presbyterianism. He was probably trained for priesthood at the University of St. Andrews, and after he was ordained in 1540 he went on to join a group of Protestants who fortified St. Andrews Castle. Unfortunately, they were captured by French Catholics and carried away into slavery in 1547. Released through English intervention in 1549, Knox spent four years preaching in England, where he influenced developments in the Church of England. Knox fled the country when Mary I became queen and served as pastor at Frankfurt am Main and Geneva until his return to Scotland in 1559. In England, Elizabeth I made common cause with the Scottish Presbyterians, to prevent the French from gaining control of Scotland to support its Catholic monarch, Mary, Queen of Scots. Knox survived conflicts with Mary and spent the rest of his life in setting up the Presbyterian church.

John Knox is depicted in the Stuart Memorial window (located at the rear of the church).
For more information about John Knox, click here.

Back to History