mother church

noun

1. a church from which other churches have had their origin or derived their authority.
2. a cathedral or a metropolitan church.
3. the church attended in one's youth or for the greater part of one's life.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mother church¹

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325

Example Sentences

The long ago protest led to the founding of the first Black denomination in the United States, which Murray described as “the mother church of Black America.”

From Los Angeles Times

Dean Monteith took up the role a year ago in Canterbury, which he described as the mother church for 80 million Anglicans.

From BBC

Divisions have run deep for decades on how the centuries-old institution - mother church for the world's 85 million Anglicans across 165 countries - deals with homosexuality and same-sex unions.

From Reuters

They said it was "converted by adding traditional features", including an iconostasis, a brightly coloured, highly ornate screen of icons, and "was designated as the 'mother church' - or Sobor - when it was consecrated".

From BBC

"The mother church of Constantinople is ready to assist its children in Ukraine and Russia once again, as it has done on multiple occasions in the past", he said.

From Reuters