Scottish Reformation Parliament
Encyclopedia
The Scottish Reformation Parliament is the name given to the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 Parliament
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...

 commencing in 1560 that passed the major pieces of legislation leading to the Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

, most importantly Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560; and Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560
Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560
The Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560 is an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, and is still in force. It declares that the Pope has no jurisdiction in Scotland and prohibits any person from seeking any title or right to be exercised in Scotland granted under the authority of the Pope, on pain of...

 .

In 1559, John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...

 returned to Scotland, marking a new effort in his battle to reform the nation. Until this time many Scottish Protestants were Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

, previously led by Patrick Hamilton
Patrick Hamilton (martyr)
Patrick Hamilton was a Scottish churchman and an early Protestant Reformer in Scotland. He travelled to Europe, where he met several of the leading reforming thinkers, before returning to Scotland to preach...

 as well as Calvinists
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 (led by George Wishart
George Wishart
George Wishart was a Scottish religious reformer and Protestant martyr.He belonged to a younger branch of the Wisharts of Pitarrow near Montrose. He may have graduated M.A., probably at King's College, Aberdeen, and was certainly a student at the University of Leuven, from which he graduated in 1531...

). However upon the return of Knox from Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Scottish Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 rallied around him and the Scottish Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 came strongly under the influence of Calvinism.

Queen dowager
Queen Dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased emperor, the title of empress dowager is used...

 Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...

, acting as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

 for her daughter Mary, Queen of Scots, had become keen to crush the Protestants and was determined to use force. Civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

 appeared imminent, but each side shrank from the first step. Knox at once became the leader of the reformers. He preached against "idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...

" with the greatest boldness, with the result that what he called the "rascal multitude" began the "purging" of churches and the destruction of monasteries. Mary of Guise died in 1560, at which point Mary, then resident in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, gave permission for Parliament to meet in her absence. The work of the 'Reformation Parliament' was popularly acclaimed, but not formally ratified until seven years later.

Following the signing of the First Covenant in 1557 by the nobles and barons, Parliament abolished 1560 the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

 of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland with the Papal Jurisdiction Act.

A Reformed confession of faith
Confession of Faith
A Confession of Faith is a statement of doctrine very similar to a creed, but usually longer and polemical, as well as didactic.Confessions of Faith are in the main, though not exclusively, associated with Protestantism...

 was drafted by six ministers: John Winram
John Winram
John Winram was a 16th century Scottish priest and ecclesiastical reformer. He was born in 1492, the son of one James Winram of Ratho and his wife Margaret Wilkie...

, John Spottiswoode
John Spottiswoode
John Spottiswoode was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland and historian of Scotland.-Life:...

, John Willock
John Willock
John Willock , Scottish reformer, was a native of Ayrshire and was educated at the University of Glasgow....

, John Douglas, John Row, and John Knox. On 17 August 1560, the document was read twice, article by article, before the Parliament; and the Protestant ministers stood ready to defend "the cause of truth", in the event that any article of belief was assailed.

When the vote was taken, the Confession was ratified and adopted, and the church was organised along Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

 lines. The first General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...

 met in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, and the First Book of Discipline
Book of Discipline
A Book of Discipline or Book of Order is a book detailing the beliefs, practices, doctrines, laws, organisational structure and government of many Christian denominations...

 (1560) was drawn up. The Second Book of Discipline (1581) was ratified by Parliament in 1592 (see General Assembly Act 1592). This definitely settled the Presbyterian form of polity and the Calvinistic doctrine as the recognised Protestant establishment in the country.

Process and Ceremony

The English correspondent Thomas Randolph
Thomas Randolph (diplomat)
Thomas Randolph was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England. Most of his professional life he spent in Scotland at the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI. While in Scotland, he was embroiled in marriage projects and several upheavals...

 described the ceremony surrounding the selection of the Lords of the Articles on 9 August 1560. The lords convened at Holyroodhouse then rode to the Tollbooth near St Giles. Mary, Queen of Scots was represented by the crown, mace and sword
Honours of Scotland
The Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish regalia and the Scottish Crown Jewels, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are the oldest set of crown jewels in the British Isles. The existing set were used for the coronation of Scottish monarchs from 1543 to 1651...

. After a speech by William Maitland, the articles of the peace with France were read and confirmed. The Lords of the Articles were chosen - these decided the agenda for the full parliament session. Then all the lords processed with the Duke to the Netherbow, and back to the Palace. The whole town wore armour, with trumpets sounding, and all other kinds of music. Randolph was confident the Lords of the Articles would commune on the "dysannullinge" of Papal authority.

The Confession of Faith was established by parliament on 17 August. The Parliament also agreed on 16 August to pursue the marriage of Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 to James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought against French troops during the Scottish Reformation....

. Randolph, "never saw so important matters sooner dispatched." When the first session of the Parliament was concluded the Duke of Châtellherault gave the Clerk Register
James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour
Sir James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour was a Scottish politician. In 1561, he was on the Privy Council of Mary, Queen of Scots and was her Lord Clerk Register in charge of archives...

 a silver coin to have the proceedings recorded. On the 26 August the Parliament approved the Treaty of Berwick (1560)
Treaty of Berwick (1560)
The Treaty of Berwick was negotiated on 27 February 1560 at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was an agreement made by the representative of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Scottish Lords of the Congregation...

, and James Stewart, Earl of Moray requested and received special confirmation that the acts of the Lords of the Congregation
Lords of the Congregation
The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...

 were not unlawful. The authority of the Pope in Scotland was abrogated without contradiction.

See also

  • History of the Reformation
    History of the Reformation
    The History of the Reformation in Scotland is a five-volume book written by the Scottish reformer, John Knox, between 1559 and 1566.In 1559 during the Scottish Reformation, the leaders of the Protestant nobility, the Lords of the Congregation, asked Knox to write a history of the movement...

    - Knox’s account of the Reformation in Scotland.
  • English Reformation Parliament, 1529-1536
  • Thomson, Thomas, ed., Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, vol. 2, (1814)
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