Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/713

 MUSEUMS

647

MUSH

eight volumes, he discontinued the Essays after the fourth volume, to devote himself to the great work of his life, his "De Ecclesia Christi". This work in- volved immense labour. It is a work of great learn- ing, a masterpiece in positive and controversial theol- ogy, which at once placed its author in the front rank of dogmatic theologians. While not neglecting the views of the continental reformers, the author m.ade a special study of the works of all the leading An- glican divines; and hence his work became the stand- ard authority for the exposition and refutation of tlie then current Anglican views about the Church. Though writing in 1860, ten years before the Vatican definition, the author with great power establishes the doctrine of papal infallibility. The treatise, "De Gratia", excellent in itself, was intended as a text- book for students; as was also the less perfect work, "De Veneratione et Invocatione Sanctorum". Dr. Murray was ever kind and considerate for his stu- dents, by whom he was always respected and loved. He was of a retiring disposition, of a deeply religious nature, and of great saintliness of life.

Healv, Maynooth College; Its Ceritenarij History, 1795-1805 (Dublin, 1S95). D.\NIEL CoGHLAN.

Museums, Christian. — Though applicable to col- lections composed of Christian objects representative of all epochs, this term is usually reserved to those museums which abound chiefly in Christian objects antedating the Middle Ages, namely, sarcophagi, in- scriptions and products of the minor arts. These ob- jects, as also those peculiar to the Middle Ages, are found in a large number of museums, but not many of these institutions are exclusively or even primarily de- voted to them. The first collections that were formed (by humanists, by the Medici in Florence, etc.) occa- sionally included the earlier types or works of medi- eval art, but more on account of their artistic merit than because of their Christian character. Collec- tions of inscriptions had been made from the time of the Renaissance, but Christian inscriptions found no place among them. It was not until after the dis- covery of the Roman catacombs by Antonio Bosio that these inscriptions were visited by collectors from Rome and other cities. The first Christian museum, properly so called, was that of the Vatican, and its origin dates from Benedict XIV, who founded it under the name of " Museum Christianum ". Thanks to Marchi and de Rossi, a part of the Vatican collections was taken to form the Lateran Museum, founded by a decree of Pius IX in 1S54. For Christian antiquities no other museums equal the latter in point of importance. During the pontificate of Benedict XIV (1740-50) a taste for Christian antiquities was developed by other distinguislied men, e. g.. Cardinal Passionei and Car- dinal Quirini, Bishop of Brescia, whose diligent searches were prolific of important results.

Italy is particularly rich in valuable collections of antique Christian relics. In Rome, besides the Christian Museums of the Vatican and the Lateran, the Museo Kircheriano and the San Paolo, Propa- ganda, and Campo Santo collections are all note- worthy. The atria of certain churches, e. g., St. Mark, Santa Maria in Trastevere, and St. Agnes, also the Grotte Vaticane, have Christian inscriptions or sculptures, and collections of inscriptions have been made in the vicinity of several Roman catacombs, e. g., St. Domitilla and St. Agnes; mention should be made also of private collections. Moreover, al- most all the large mu.seums of Italy and the treasuries of some churches have objccis lu'loiiging to the early Christian era, e. g., the Museum and Library of Brescia and those of the Uflnzi at Florence, the municipal Museum of Florence, the Trivulzi collection, the treas- uries of the cathedrals of Milan and Monza, the Museo Nazionale at Palermo, the Museum of the Villa Cassia at Syracuse, etc. Outside of Italy, im-

portant collections of Christian antiquities are less numerous, although those of Cairo, Alexandria, Ath- ens, of St. Louis of Carthage (the Lavigerie Museum), of Aries, Autun, Trier, etc. deserve mention. The museums of the great capitals, London, Paris, Berlin, etc., and the treasuries of some churches, e. g., the cathedral of Sens, have ivories and various woven stuffs dating from the early Christian epoch. Such woven stuffs, principally of Coptic origin, and very ancient, have lately been introduced into many collections.

Church treasuries, especially the richer ones of some German churches (cathedrals of Cologne, Trier, Hil- desheim, Bamberg and the abbatial church of Essen, etc.), are noted for their medieval relies and may pass for the oldest Christian museums.

In addition to the large museums of all countries, many museums of industrial art, provincial museums, private collections and archaeological societies, also episcopal museums, e. g., the rich ones of Cologne and Utrecht, contain many valuable and ancient Christian reUcs of an artistic kind. As a Christian museum of the Middle Ages, the Schnlitgen collection at Cologne deserves special notice. It contains many refigious objects, chalices, crosses, ecclesiastical vestments, etc., and offers a better opportunity than any other collection for studying the changing forms of these objects from age to age. A word is due to the museums of copies or reproductions annexed to certain institu- tions of higher education. The most remarkable Christian museum of this kind is that of the Univer- sity of BerUn, founded 1849-1855 by f^rdinand Piper. Although largely representative of the Middle Ages, it is unparalleled for its facsimiles of Christian an- tiquities. More recently M. G. Millet founded at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, in Paris, a Byzantine mu- seum, rich in copies and stereotypes gathered during the explorations and study tours made by French scholars. (See Lateran, Christian Museum of; Vatican.)

K.»UFMANN, Handbuch der ckristtichen ArchSologie (Paderborn, 1905), 678q.,74; Leclercq, Manueld" ArcheologiechrUieiine (Paria, 1907), I, 429; Krahs, Realencydopddie (Freiburg, 1886), s. v. Topographic; Forrer and Fischer, Adressbuch der Museen, Bibliotheken, Sammler und Antiquare (Strasburg, 1896).

R. Maere.

Mush, an Armenian Catholic see, comprising the sanjaks of Mush and Seert, in the vilayet of Bitlis. It was created by Leo XIII in 188.3, and numbers about 5000 faithful, 7 secular priests, 7 churches or chapels, 5 schools, and an establishment of the Vene- tian Mechitarists. The chief stations outside of Mush are some neighbouring villages such as Bitlis or Van. The town is built on a hill, at the foot of a ruined citadel and in the midst of vineyards; below stretches a well-cultivated plain, about fifty miles long by eighteen miles wide. The climate is healthy and the country tolerably rich, but exposed to con- stant incursions of the Kurds and other nomads, who terrorize the inhabitants, especially the Christians. Built by an Armenian prince named Muchigh, the town of Mush has about 27.(K)I) iiiliahitants, of whom 3,000 are Armenian Catholics, 10,0(10 Armenian schis- matics, and 700 Protestants, the rest being Mussul- mans. Besides the Catholic bishop there is an Armenian Gregorian bishop ; also a Protestant mission- ary. The celebrated Moses of Chorene was born in the neighbouring village of Chorene.

CuiNET. La Turquie d'Asie (Paris), 571-77; Missiones catholias (Rome, 1907), 757.

S. VAILHfi.

Mush (alias Ratclipfe), John, priest, b. in York- shire, 1.551 or 1552; d. at Wenge, Co. Bucks, 1612 or 1613, not as Bishop Challoner thought, in 1617. Having spent six months in the English College at Douai he went to Rome (1.576) where he studied for seven years. Ordained priest, he returned to Eng- land (1583) and laboured at York, being confessor