It also has a burnt face of Christ.
Fr. Warner D’Souza, priest who heads the Church
committee that has put the museum together, said the face is part of a larger
wooden statue that was damaged in a fire.
“We have been working on the project for over
three years,” he said.
The museum is housed in a section of St. Pious
College, Goregaon and most of the artifacts have come from old churches while
others are from attics in pastoral houses.
“We decided not to buy old statues and
artifacts as it will indirectly lead to more destruction of the centuries-old
Church heritage in the region,” said Fr. D’Souza.
The museum has an interesting timeline on a
wall depicting Christian events right from the legend of St Bartholomew, a
disciple of Christ who reportedly visited Kalyan before 100 AD.
It has the reports of Nestorian Christians who
had settled in Thane region in 100 AD and the Church of St Thomas built in
Sopara (Nalasopara) after the 6th century AD.
There is also mention of the Thane Martyrs, a
group of missionaries who were killed by Arabs in 1300.
The museum also has the robes and rings of
India’s first Cardinal Valerian Gracias which are displayed prominently.
An old altar which once stood in a Church at
Manori, dated 1608 rescued from a shed in the churchyard after the parish
priest pulled it down to make way for a marble altar, is also part of the
museum.
There is an auditorium where people can watch
shows about Church history and art. several photographs of old Churches like
Our Lady of Salvation Church,Dadar, built in 1595 which was pulled down in
1977, are on display.
It is a beginning and we hope it will grow into
a movement for greater conservation of Church heritage,” said Fr. D’Souza.
Source: Times
of India
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento