The Scottish Reformation Parliament of 1560 was a pivotal assembly that passed transformative legislation, effectively establishing the Protestant Church of Scotland and abolishing the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church. Led by the influential reformer John Knox, who returned to Scotland in 1559 heavily influenced by the Genevan Reformation, the Parliament convened following a period of civil strife and the death of Regent Mary of Guise.
Crucially, in August 1560, the Parliament adopted the "Scots Confession," a Reformed Confession of Faith, and passed the Papal Jurisdiction Act, definitively severing ties with Rome. This laid the groundwork for Presbyterianism and the First General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. While these foundational acts were widely acclaimed, they were not ratified by the then-absent Mary, Queen of Scots; their legal standing was only formally cemented seven years later, in 1567, by James VI.