Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer.[1] It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or (arch)diocese, i.e. a cathedral church.[2] For a particular individual, one's mother church is the church in which one received the sacrament of baptism.[3][4] The term has specific meanings within different Christian traditions. Catholics refer to the Catholic Church as "Holy Mother Church".
- ^ "mother church – definition of mother church in English | Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ "Catholic Church: Glossary of Roman Catholic terms". BBC News. 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ Diller, Harriett (1990). Celebrations That Matter: A Year-Round Guide to Making Holidays Meaningful. Augsburg. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8066-2498-3.
In England, Mothering Sunday is a day to honor both your mother church and your own mother. In the past, young people working away from home visited their mothers and the churches where they were baptized on Mothering Sunday.
- ^ Pearson, Sharon Ely; Szoke, Robyn (2009). The Prayer Book Guide to Christian Education, Third Edition. Church Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8192-2337-1.
Mothering Sunday—In England children away from home at school or work were permitted to go home to visit their mothers and/or to visit their cathedral or mother church on this fourth Sunday of Lent. Today, many cathedrals and "mother" churches invite all who had been baptized there to return "home" to worship.