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 Knox was ordained a Roman Catholic priest sometime between 1530 and 1540. His friend George Wishart, who was later burned at the stake in 1546, led him to Christ.
In 1547, shortly after his conversion, Knox was captured by the French and made a galley slave for nineteen months. After his release, he went to England and aided the cause of the Reformation under Edward VI.
He left England for Switzerland when the ardent Roman Catholic Mary acceded to the throne. In Geneva he studied the methods and teachings of the reformer John Calvin. He then returned to Scotland in 1559 and spent the rest of his life leading the Church and shaping the character of the nation.
One of the greatest contributions Knox made to the Reformation in Scotland was the Book of Discipline. In it, he set forth principles for the guidance of the Church. He gave strong emphasis to the nature of education. Every town should have a schoolmaster, and in every rural parish the minister should teach the children. Men should be compelled by the magistrates to send their children to school. Poor men’s children should be helped, and no one should be denied basic education.
Knox was a fervent intercessor, whose constant prayer was “Give me Scotland or I die!” His adversary, Mary, Queen of Scots, once said, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than an army of 10,000 men!”
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