Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/106

 FINBARR

76

FINLAND

"hewn oak, with an outer covering of reeds'", dedi- cated to St. Peter. His apostohc zeal resulted in tlie foundation of St. Mary's at the mouth of the River Tyne; Gilling, a monastery on the spot where King Oswin had been murdered, founded by Queen Eanfled, and the great Abbey of Streanaeshalch, or Whitby. St. Finan (Finn-an — little Finn) converted Peada, son of Penda, King of the Middle Angles, " with all his Nobles and Thanes", and gave him four priests, in- cluding Diuma, whom he consecrated Bishop of Mid- dle Angles and Mercia, under King Oswy. The Brev- iary of Aberdeen styles him "a man of venerable life, a bishop of great sanctity, an eloquent teacher of un- believing races, remarkable for his training in virtue and his liberal education, surpassing all his equals in every manner of knowledge as well as in circumspec- tion and prudence, but chiefly devoting himself to good works and presenting in his life, a most apt exam- ple of virtue ".

In the mysterious ways of Providence, the Abbey of Whitby, his chief fomidation, was the scene of the famous Paschal controversy, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Irish monks from Lindisfarne. The inconvenience of the two systems — Irish and Roman — of keeping Easter was specially felt when on one oc- casion King Oswy and his Court were celebrating Easter Sunday with St. Finan, while on the same day Queen Eanfled and her attendants were still fasting and celebrating Palm Suntlay. Saint Finan was spared being present at the Synod of Whitby. His feast is celebrated on the 9th of February.

Bkde, ed. Sellar, Ecch. Hist, of England (London, 1907); MoRAN, Irish Sainls in Great Britain, new ed. (Callan, 1003); Healy, Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars (Dublin, 1901').

W. H. Grattan-Flood.

Finbarr (Lochan, Barr), Saint, Bishop and patron of Cork, b. near Bandon, about 550, d. at Cloyne, 25 Sept., 623, was son of Amergin. He evangelized Gowran, Coolcashin, and Aghaboe, and founded a school at Eirce. For some years he dwelt in a hermitage at Gougane Barra, where a beautifid replica of Cormac's chapel has recently been erected in his honour. Finbarr was buried in the cathedral he built where Cork city now stands. He was specially honoured also at Dornoch and Barra, in Scotland. There are five Irish saints of this name. (See Cork.)

Life by Walsh (New York, 1S64); Banba (Dublin), 207. A. A. MacErlean.

Finch, John, Venerable, martyr, b. about 1548; d. 20 April, 1584. He was a yeoman of Eccleston, Lancashire, and a member of a well-known old Catho- lic family, but he appears to have been brought up in schism. When he was twenty years old lie went to London where he spent nearly a year with some cousins at the Inner Temple. While there he was forci- bly struck by the contrast between Protestantism and Catholicism in practice and determined to lead a Catholic life. Failing to find advancement in London he returned to Lancashire where he was reconciled to the Catholic Church. He then married and settled down, his house becoming a centre of missionary work, he himself harbouring priests and aiding them in every way, besides acting as catechist. His zeal drew on him the hostility of the authorities, and at Christmas, 1581, he was entrapped into bringing a priest, George OstlifTe, to a place where both were apprehended. It was given out that Finch, having betrayed the priest and other Catholics, had taken refuge with the Earl of Derby, but in fact, he was kept in the earl's house as a prisoner, sometimes tortured and sometimes bribed in order to pervert him and induce him to give infor- mation. This failing, he was removed to the Fleet prison at Manchester and afterwards to the House of Correction. When he refusetl to go to the Protestant church he was dragged there by the feet, his head

beating on the stones. For many months he lay in a damp dungeon, ill-fed and ill-treated, desiring always that he might be brought to trial and martyrdom. After three years' imprisonment, he was sent to be tried at Lancaster. There he was brought to trial with three priests on 18 April, 1584. He was found guilty and, on 20 April, having spent the night in con- verting some condemned felons, he suffered with Ven. James Bell at Lancaster. The cause of his beatifica- tion with those of the other English Martyrs was in- troduced by decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, 4 Dec, 1886.

Bridgewater, Concertatio, 164 sqq., g. v Martyrium Domini Joannis Finchii, the first and fullest account of the martyr (Trier, 1588); Challoner, Memoirs of Missionary Priests (London, 1741), I, 162 sqq.; Simpson in The Rambler, new series, VIII, 414; GlLLow, Bibl. Diet. Bng. Cath. (London, 1SS6), 11; Pollen, Unpublished Documents relating to the Eng- lish Martyrs, especially 44-46 and 78-88; Catholic Record Soci- ety (London, 1908). V.

Edwin Burton.

Finding of the Cross. See Cross.

. Finglow, John, Venerable, English martyr; b. at Barnby, near Howden, Yorkshire; executed at York, 8 August, 1586. He was ordained priest at the Eng- lish College, Reims, 25 March, 1581, whence the fol- lowing month he was sent on the English mission. After labouring for some time in the north of England, he was .seized and confined in Ousebridge Kidcote, York, where for a time he endured serious discom- forts, alleviated slightly by a fellow-prisoner. He was finally tried for being a Catholic priest and reconciling English subjects to the ancient Faith, and condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Cooper in Diet. Nat. Biog.: Douay Diaries, ed. Knox (Lon- don, 1S7S); GiLLOW, Bihl. Diet. Eng. Cath.

F. M. RUDGE.

Finland, Grand Dcchy of, a department or prov- ince of the Russian Empire; boundeil on the north by Norway, on the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, on the south by the Gulf of Finland. Its limits extend from about 60° to 70° N. lat., and from about 19° to 33° E. long.; the area is 141,617 sq. miles. Finland abounds in lakes and forests, but the propor- tion of arable soil is small. The population numbers 2,900,000 souls, chiefly Finns; the coasts are inhabited by the descendants of Swedish settlers.

Up to the beginning of the twelfth century the peo- ple were pagans; about this date efforts for the conver- sion of the Finns were made from two sides. The Grand Duke of Novgorod, Vassievolodovich, sent Russian missionaries to the Karelians, Finns living on the Lake of Ladoga in East Finland, while in 1157 King Erik of Sweden vmdertook a crusade to Finland. Erik established himself firmly on the south-western coast and from this base extended his power. Hen- rik, Bishop of Upsala, who had accompanied Erik on this expedition, devoted himself to preaching the Gos- pel and suffered the death of a martyr in 1158. His successor, Rodulfus, met the same fate about 1178, while the next following bishop, Folkvin, died a nat- ural death. Finland attained an independent church organization imder Bishop Thomas (1220; d. 1248), whose see was Rantemiikai; at a later date the episco- pal residence was transferred to Abo. The successors of Thomas were: Bero I (d. 1258); Ragvald I (1258- 66); Ketfil (1266-86); Joannes I (1286-90); Magnus I (1290-1308), who was the first Finn to become bishop; he tr.ansferred the see to Abo; Ragvald II (1309-21); Bengt (1321-38); Hemming (1338-66), who made wise laws, built numerous churches, began the collec- tion of a library, and died in the odour of sanctity; in 1514 his bones were taken up, the relics now being in the mu.seum of the city of Abo, but he was not canon- ized; Henricus Hartmanni (1366-68); Joannes II Petri (1.368-70); Joannes II Westfal (1370-85), a bishop of German descent; Bero II (1385-1412); Mag-