1559-1560 Reformation Crisis

1559-1560 Reformation Crisis

In the spring and summer of 1559 Protestant activists set out to ‘reform’ Roman Catholic churches. Influenced by strict Calvinist ideas on the wickedness of ‘idols’, they smashed statues, removed altars, and burned religious books. Once churches had been ‘purged’ in this fashion the Protestants established new forms of services and church government. Cupar was one of the first places in Fife to be reformed, and Crail followed soon after. The Protestants (who called themselves ‘the Congregation’) then turned their attention to St Andrews – Scotland’s historic religious capital. In June 1559 the Protestant preacher John Knox delivered a sermon in St Andrews encouraging his listeners to ‘remove the monuments of idolatry’. Knox and his supporters proceeded to sack St Andrews Cathedral and other religious sites in the burgh. From this point onwards St Andrews was controlled by Protestants, and became a key Reformist stronghold. By the summer of 1560 Protestant forces had occupied Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament officially rejected Roman Catholicism.

timelineoffifesreli

1559

egsr@st-andrews.ac.uk

English

Event

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Sacred Landscapes of Fife

TEXT

https://fifecoastalzone.org/wiki/index.php/1559-1560 Reformation_Crisis_Event

1560

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