Mother Church

The term Mother Church has many meanings within Christianity. The principal definition in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is "The Church, esp. the Roman Catholic Church, considered as a mother in its functions of nourishing and protecting the believer". Other definitions include: "A church (as a parish church) which has responsibility for or oversight of another (as a chapel of ease, chantry, etc.)"; "The principal church of a country, region, or city; a cathedral or a metropolitan church"; "The original church of a particular Christian movement, serving as an organizational or spiritual centre; esp. the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts, that of the Christian Scientists"; and "The church (i.e. organized body of Christians) of which another church or denomination is an offshoot; (also) the oldest or original church from which all others have sprung".