What is Church?

This essay on the Church as mother is a short summary of points made in other works.1 There are three parts to my comments. First, I will explore briefly how and why, from the earliest period, the Church is spoken of as
“mother” or “Virgin Mother.” I shall then, second, consider some consequences of coordinating the existence
of ecclesial communities into larger geographical entities. Third, I will suggest how and why ecclesiological reflection turned to the Eucharist as its defining element and some consequences that arise from this