Mother church ormatrice is a term depicting theChristian Church as amother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer.^[1] It may also refer to the primary church of aChristian denomination or (arch)diocese, i.e. acathedral church.^[2] For a particular individual, one's mother church is the church in which one received thesacrament ofbaptism.^[3][4] The term has specific meanings within different Christian traditions. Catholics refer to theCatholic Church as "Holy Mother Church".^{[citation needed]}

The "first see", orprimatial see, of a regional or national church is sometimes referred to as the mother church of that nation. For example, Armagh is the primatial see of Ireland, because it was the first established local church in that country. Similarly, Rome is the primatial see of Italy, and Baltimore of the United States, and so on.

The first local church in all of Christianity is that ofJerusalem, the site of the Passion of the Christ and ofPentecost, making it the Mother Church of all Christianity.^[5][6]

This term is most often used amongCatholics asHoly Mother Church.^[7] The Church is considered to be a mother to her members because she is theBride of Christ,^[8] and all because the Church is considered the mother of believers just as God is called the Father of believers. Another term used in theCatechism is the title "Mater et Magistra" (Mother and Teacher).^[9]Pope John XXIII made this the title of hisencyclical celebrating the seventieth year afterLeo XIII'sgroundbreaking social encyclical, explaining that in thisMother and Teacher all nations "should find ... their own completeness in a higher order of living."^[10]Pope Francis said:^[11]

The Church is our mother. She is our "Holy Mother Church" that is generated through our baptism, makes us grow up in her community and has that motherly attitude, of meekness and goodness: Our Mother Mary and our Mother Church know how to caress their children and show tenderness. To think of the Church without that motherly feeling is to think of a rigid association, an association without human warmth, an orphan.^[11]

InAnglicanism, theChurch of England gave rise to all the other Churches in theAnglican Communion, and as such she is considered the Mother Church.^[12] TheArchbishop of Canterbury thus serves as the focus of unity within the Anglican Communion.^[13]

InMethodism, theMethodist Church of Great Britain is considered the Mother Church by all the other Methodist Churches in theWorld Methodist Council, withMethodist Central Hall often being a symbol of this tradition.^[14][15] This is because the Methodist Church of Great Britain "gave birth to the whole Methodist enterprise and then of a nineteenth-century church whose influence reached out across the world through the missionary endeavors of the various British Connexions within and beyond the British Empire."^[14]

Apostolic sees are those local churches founded by one of theTwelve Apostles orPaul the Apostle. In 1855 Bingham wrote: "Ecclesia matrix, amother-church, is sometimes taken for an original church planted immediately by theApostles, whence others were derived and propagated afterward. ...And in this sense the Church of Jerusalem is called 'the mother-church of all churches in the world.'"

He also refers to "Arles the mother church of France, supposedly planted by the Apostle's missionaryTrophimus, first bishop of the place."^[16]

For a particular individual, one's mother church is the church at which one received the Christiansacrament ofbaptism (christening).^[3][4] In the British Isles,Mothering Sunday is the traditional day in which one visits one's mother church.^[3][4]

The Mother Church of Christianity is theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem, the traditional site of the most important events in the religion. Within are the holiest spots of Christianity, chiefly, theplace of Jesus'crucifixion, death,burial, andresurrection.

"Mother church" may also be a title of distinction based on a church's hierarchical importance. The church of the (arch)bishop of anepiscopal see is often considered the mother church of the (arch)diocese.Holy Name Cathedral inChicago, Illinois, falls under this category. While it was not the first Roman Catholic cathedral of the city, it became the mother church due to the presence of the episcopalcathedra. This form of distinction based on hierarchical importance is usually used by theRoman Catholic Church, and, sometimes, the churches of theLutheran World Federation andAnglican Communion,^[17] while otherProtestant denominations tend to refrain from using the title in this manner.

Thepope's cathedral, the PapalArchbasilica of Saint John Lateran, is calledSacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput ("Most Holy Lateran Church, Mother and Head of all the churches in the city and the world").^[18]

Canterbury Cathedral, seat of theArchbishop of Canterbury, describes itself as the "Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion".^[19]

The first church built in a mission area is sometimes called the mother church. For example, theCathedral of Our Lady of Peace inHonolulu, Hawaii, was the site of the firstFrenchCatholic mission of theCongregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, from which the modernHawaii Catholic Church was established. Under these circumstances it is today considered the mother church of all Hawaii.^[20] Similarly, theMission San Carlos Borromeo inCarmel, California, is considered the mother church ofCalifornia, as it historically served as the headquarters of theCalifornia mission system.

The term may also relate to the churches of the variousreligious institutes, royal orders, or civic orders. For example,Madonna Della Strada Chapel became the mother church of the province of Chicago of theSociety of Jesus (Jesuits), as the principal church of theJesuits in its particular province includingIllinois,Indiana,Kentucky, andOhio.^[21] On a broader scale, theChiesa del Gesù inRome is the mother church of all Jesuits throughout the world as it is the church of the Society's Superior General.^[18]

Another form of the phrase is mainly used in Protestant churches. A mother church is one from which other "daughter churches" were planted nearby.^[22]

The oldest churches of various religious communities are often considered the mother churches to others that follow either in that same tradition or, alternatively, in a reformist tradition. A church's hierarchical importance is often derived from its historical importance in its organization. In addition, in communities where churches may change their ecclesiastical association or become independent (particularly inPentecostal,charismatic, andnondenominational churches in America), a mother church may have daughter churches in one or more organizations.

The mother church inChristian Science isThe First Church of Christ, Scientist inBoston, theChurch of Christ Scientist, of which all others are branches. Per theManual of The Mother Church, the legal title of the mother church is "The First Church of Christ, Scientist," and while its branch churches may call themselves First Church of Christ, Scientist, or Second Church of Christ, Scientist, etc., they are prohibited from using "The" in front of their names. Only The Mother Church can do so.^[23]

Greater Refuge Temple Church inNew York City is the mother church of theChurch of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, an ApostolicPentecostal denomination. As such, it is also ultimately the mother church of its various offshoot churches and organizations, including bothBible Way organizations and theChurch of the Lord Jesus Christ and its daughter churches. In addition, churches that were independently founded by ministers who were ordained or directly influenced by the church's founder, Robert C. Lawson, or his spiritual successor, William L. Bonner, may also look to Greater Refuge Temple as their mother church, including the Progressive Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Evangelistic Church of Christ, and many others.^[24]