Mother Church
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Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
{{Unreferenced|date=July 2007}}
In [[Christianity]], the term '''mother church''', '''Mother Church''', or '''motherchurch''' may have one of five meanings:
# The first [[mission]] church in an area, or a [[pioneer cathedral]]
# A [[basilica]] or [[cathedral]]
# The main chapel of a province of a [[religious order]]
# A plantation church - that is, the "mother" of several "daughter churches",
# [[Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church]], the "mother church" of the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]]
# [[The Mother Church]]: [[The First Church of Christ, Scientist (Boston, Massachusetts)]], the [[Church of Christ Scientist]] of which all others are branches; or
# The church universal -- the ''One holy, catholic and apostolic church'' -- of the [[Nicene Creed]].
==First mission church==
It is used as a title of distinction for churches established originally as the first mission of a particular region. For example, the [[Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace]] in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu, Hawai'i]] was the site of the first [[France|French]] [[Catholicism|Catholic]] mission of the [[Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary]], from which the modern [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu|Hawai'i Catholic Church]] was established. Under these circumstances it is today considered the mother church of all Hawai'i.
==Basilicas and cathedrals==
Mother church may also be a title of distinction based on the church's hierarchical importance. For example, among [[Roman Catholic]]s the [[ecumenical]] mother church is the [[St. John Lateran|Lateran Basilica]]. Similarly, the church of the [[bishop]] of an [[episcopal see]] is often considered the mother church of a diocese. [[Holy Name Cathedral]] in [[Chicago, 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 episcopal ''[[cathedra]]''. This form of distinction based on hierarchical importance is usually used by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], and, sometimes, the churches of the [[Anglican Communion]], while most [[Protestant]] denominations tend to refrain from using the title in this manner. A notable exception is the First [[Church of Christ, Scientist]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], which is commonly called the "Mother Church".
==Chapel of a province==
A third form relates to the churches of the various [[religious order]]s, royal orders or civic orders. For example, [[Madonna Della Strada|Madonna Della Strada Chapel]] is the mother church of the Province of Chicago of the [[Society of Jesus]]. It is the principal church of the [[Jesuits]] in its particular province which includes [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Kentucky]] and [[Ohio]]. On a broader scale, the [[Church of the Gesu|Chiesa del Gesu]] in [[Rome]] is the mother church of all Jesuits throughout the world as it is the church of the order's Superior General.
==Plantation churches==
A fourth form is mainly used in [[Protestant]] churches. A mother church is a local church from which other local churches were planted. These churches are known as daughter churches.
==The mother church of the African Methodist Episcopal Church==
[[Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] founded in 1794 is the "mother church" of the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]].
==The Mother Church in Christian Science==
The Mother Church in [[Christian Science]] is [[The First Church of Christ, Scientist (Boston, Massachusetts)]], the [[Church of Christ Scientist]] of which all others are branches. Per the [[Manual of The Mother Church]], the legal title of the Mother Church is "The First Church of Christ, Scientist," and while its branch church 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.<ref>[http://www.mbeinstitute.org/CManual/ChurchManual.pdf Mary Baker Eddy Institute: The Manual of The Mother Church, by Mary Baker Eddy, Article XXIII, Titles. Section2, p. 25 online and p. 70 in book}</ref>
==The church universal==
Additionally, among [[Roman Catholic]]s, Mother Church, or Holy Mother Church, refers to the Universal Church (which subsists in the Catholic Church). She is considered to be the [[Bride of Christ (theology)|Bride of Christ]] and the Mother of all the Christian faithful.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*
==See also==
* [[Cathedral of All Saints]]
[[Category:Types of churches]]