John Craig

John Craig (c. 1512 – 12 December 1600) was a Scottish minister. He was originally a member of the Dominican Order, wherefore he had access to read Papally-censored works of John Calvin and was converted to Protestant doctrine. He later joined forces with John Knox and had a significant part in the Scottish Reformation.

John Craig was born about 1512. His father died at the Battle of Flodden (1513). Craig attended the University of St. Andrews and served as tutor to the children of Lord Dacre for two years.

He returned to Scotland and entered the Dominican Order. Cleared of a suspicion of heresy, he left, in 1537, for England, and then traveled to Rome. Through the influence of Cardinal Pole he obtained a position instructing novices at the Dominican house in Bologna, where he subsequently became rector or head official of perhaps the oldest university. Ironically, since Dominicans were charged with suppressing ideas judged to be heretical, Craig here had access to the library of the Inquisition holding forbidden books like John Calvin's Institutes and came through his analysis to adopt some of Calvin's views. Craig himself was thus sent to Rome charged as a heretic. Sentenced to be burned on 19 August 1559, Craig escaped the day before during civil unrest prompted by the death of the unpopular Pope Paul IV on 18 August, upon which crowds broke into the prisons to free his captives.

He made his way to Vienna, where as a Dominican, he preached before emperor Maximilian II, and soon became a favourite at court. The Emperor gave him letters of safe conduct to England and Craig returned to Scotland, where he preached at Magdalen's Chapel in Edinburgh. In 1561 was appointed Mary, Queen of Scots's royal chaplain of Holyrood House in Edinburgh. In 1563 he was joint minister with John Knox of St. Giles's.

In 1571 he became minister of Montrose, and in 1573 moved to Aberdeen where he was named Superintendent of Mar and Buchan. In 1579 Craig was minister of Holyrood and domestic chaplain to James VI. He was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Craig played a vital role in writing the Second Book of Discipline for the Scottish Church. He also drew up the National Covenant of 1581, and wrote a very popular catechism known as "Craig's Catechism". Craig was moreover a vigorous defender of the presbyterial form of church government in opposition to episcopacy, which brought him into conflict with King James.

King James had personally appointed Craig, "one of the best-gifted in the kingdom" as his Royal Chaplain, so when Craig rebuked him during his captivity so sharply from the pulpit (19 September 1582) for having issued a proclamation offensive to the clergy, "the king wept".

John Craig died on 12 December 1600 at the age of eighty-eight.