A new plan to re-open the ChristChurch cathedral in the Square has been given the green light!
After the reinstatement of the Cathedral was paused in August 2024, a new way forward has now received approval. I was present at the meeting of Synod (the church’s Canterbury–Westland governing body) over the weekend, where the plan was welcomed with resounding applause.
In brief, the plan focuses on reinstating the tower (with its peal of bells and the balconies overlooking Christchurch), the west wall, the rose window, and the nave. Once this work is complete, hopefully by the end of the decade, the hoardings will come down from the front (west side) of the Cathedral, and Cathedral Square will no longer look like a building site. Visitors will again be able to climb the tower and enjoy the view over the city. The bells will again ring out. Worship services will return to the nave, including daily services with the wonderful choir. For now, a wall will separate the nave from the transepts, crossing, and chancel/sanctuary, with the east end of the building to remain paused until further funds are secured.
Before the 2011 earthquakes, Christ Church Cathedral was one of New Zealand’s most visited buildings, drawing over 300,000 visitors annually. [To be fair, Auckland’s Sky Tower may have seen more, depending on how one defines “building” — but certainly, it was in the top two!]
Many people may not recall the Cathedral’s journey since the quakes. Initially, the Church planned to deconstruct the badly damaged building and replace it with a new one. That proposal met with strong opposition and legal challenges. Eventually, government and council offers of financial support – $25 million from central government, and around $12 per household annually for six years from ratepayers – helped Synod revisit decisions and vote for reinstatement. It is also worth noting that Anglicanism is not a single global organisation with a central pot of money. Funds from England (or even more locally, say Auckland) cannot simply be transferred to pay for Christchurch’s Cathedral.
To understand the importance of the Cathedral, it helps to recall its roots. Canterbury and Christchurch were planned in England as an Anglican settlement, with the Cathedral at its heart. The cornerstone was laid on 16 December 1864. It took until 1 November 1881 for the nave and tower to be consecrated, and in 1894 the west porch was added. This is essentially what the new plan seeks to reinstate. The remainder – the apse, chancel, transepts, and crossing – was not completed until 1904. From the beginning, the Cathedral has been the symbol and heart of Christchurch and Canterbury.
Like many others, I have had a strong interest in the Cathedral (and in the wider rebuild of Christchurch). That interest became even more deeply personal when I had the privilege of serving as Acting Dean in 2023.
Mā ō tātou ringa, ka rewa anō te tuara o tō tātou whare karakia.
With all of our hands, the roof of our Cathedral will rise again.
Further reading:
RNZ article
Stuff article
Wikipedia on the cathedral
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