Calvin and Knox

Recently Rev Dr Trevor Morrow, a former moderator of the Presbyterian Church, said, 'John Calvin remains a towering figure of influence in the church.'  [News Letter 11 September 2010]  Not only was he a powerful influence in the church but he was also a powerful influence in Ulster.

It was through the theology of John Calvin and the preaching of John Knox that the Church of Scotland was established as a Presbyterian and Protestant Church and the Presbyterian Church in Ulster is the eldest daughter of the 'mither kirk' in Scotland.

The Ulster-Scots settlers of the 17th century introduced Presbyterianism into Ulster.  They brought Scottish Presbyterian ministers with them and within a few years the Sixmilewater Revival embedded Presbyterianism in east Ulster.  The arrival of a Scottish Covenanter army in Ulster in 1642, to defend the Ulster-Scots settlers, led to the creation of the first Presbytery in Ulster and thereafter Presbyterianism was a powerful influence in the shaping of modern Ulster.