reform. The result of the delay was that the document, known as the First Book of Discipline was not considered by the full parliament, but a thinly attended convention of nobles and about 30 lairds, in January 1561 and then only approved individually and not collectively. The book set out a system of church order that included superintendents, ministers, doctors, elders and deacons. It also contained a programme of parish-based reformation that would use the resources of the old church to pay a network of ministers, a parish based school system, university education and arrangements for poor relief. However, the proposal for the use of church wealth were rejected and under an Act of Council, which kept two-thirds in the hands of its existing owners and even the remaining third had to be shared with the Crown. The result was an abandonment of the educational programme, ministers remained poorly paid and the church was underfunded. Second Book of Discipline In July 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her 13-month-old son James VI. James was to be brought up a Protestant and the government was to be run by a series of regents, beginning with James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, until James began to assert his independence in 1581. Mary eventually escaped and attempted to regain the throne by force. After her defeat at the Battle of Langside in May 1568, by forces loyal to the King's Party, led by Moray, she took refuge in England, leaving her son in their hands. In Scotland the King's Party fought a civil war on behalf of the king against his mother's supporters, which ended, after English intervention, with the surrender of Edinburgh Castle in May 1573. In 1578 a Second Book of Discipline was adopted, which was much more clearly Presbyterian in outlook. It placed church supervision fully in the hands of groups of elected church leaders, in presbyteries, synods and the general assembly. Notes External links 1560 books 1581 books 16th century in Scotland Church of Scotland Scottish books Scottish Reformation Church order