29. John Knox: Prisoner, Exile, Reformer (part 2)

When the forces of the Reformation seized control of St.Andrews castle, they appointed John Knox to be the official preacher for the community. His ministry was cut short, however, when troops from France overwhelmed St. Andrews and took Knox himself prisoner. He was condemned to serve in a French galley, which usually was taken as a death sentence. Nineteen months later, however, he was released in a prisoner exchange and after recovering his health, became the court preacher in England under Edward VI. The ascension of Mary Tudor in 1553 cut short the progress of the English Reformation, and Knox escaped to the continent, to the city of Geneva, where he drank in the spirit of Calvin and the Reformation, leading to his famous comment that Geneva was the most Christian city on earth.