The Scots Confession (also called the Scots Confession of 1560) is a Confession of Faith written in 1560 by six leaders of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

in Scotland. The text of the Confession was the first subordinate standard for the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church in Scotland. Along with the

Book of Discipline A Book of Discipline (or in its shortened form Discipline) is a book detailing the beliefs, standards, doctrines, canon law, and polity of a particular Christian denomination. They are often re-written by the governing body of the church concern ...

and the

Book of Common Order The ''Book of Common Order'', originally titled ''The Forme of Prayers'', is a liturgical book by John Knox written for use in the Calvinism, Reformed denomination. The text was composed in Geneva in 1556 and was adopted by the Church of Scotla ...

, this is considered to be a formational document for the Church of Scotland during the time. In August 1560 the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

agreed to reform the

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

of the country. To enable them to decide what the Reformed Faith was to be, they set

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

as the superintendent over John Winram, John Spottiswood, John Willock, John Douglas, and John Row, known hereafter as "The Six Johns", to prepare a Confession of Faith. This they did in four days. The 25 Chapters of the Confession spell out a contemporary statement of the Christian faith as understood by the followers of

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

during his lifetime. Although the Confession and its accompanying documents were the product of the joint effort of the Six Johns, its authorship is customarily attributed to John Knox. While the Parliament approved the Confession on 27 August 1560, acting outside the terms of the Treaty of Edinburgh to do so,

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, a Roman Catholic, refused to agree, and the Confession was not approved by the monarch until 1567, after Mary's overthrow. It remained the Confession of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

until it was superseded by the Westminster Confession of Faith on 27 August 1647. However, the confession itself begins by stating that the Parliament "ratifeit and apprevit he confessionas wholesome and sound doctrine grounded upon the infallible truth of God's word"; thus, though changes within societies may have diminished its relevance, believers hold that the authority of its statements is rooted not in parliamentary approval but in, as it says, "the infallible truth of God's word". In 1967, it was included in the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.'s ''Book of Confessions ''alongside various other confessional standards, and remains in the current Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s '' Book of Confessions''. As the Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560, the Confession remains part of Scots law.Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560.
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Notes

References

* * * * {{Authority control Reformed confessions of faith 1560 books Scottish Reformation 1560 in Scotland Church of Scotland