mother church
Americannoun
-
a church from which other churches have had their origin or derived their authority.
-
a cathedral or a metropolitan church.
-
the church attended in one's youth or for the greater part of one's life.
Etymology
Origin of mother church
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A former nurse made history Wednesday when she was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world's 85 million-strong Anglican community.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
Its survival and growth since the forcible closure of its Beijing mother church in 2018 only adds embarrassment to alarm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Dean Monteith took up the role a year ago in Canterbury, which he described as the mother church for 80 million Anglicans.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2023
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 ● Jul. 4, 2023
Alresford is divided into two parishes, of which that of Old Alresford is deemed the mother church.
From Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. by Thomas Cantrell Dugdale
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
