Christ Church Cathedral, Christchurch

This article is about the Anglican cathedral in New Zealand. For other cathedrals, see Christ Church Cathedral (disambiguation).

ChristChurch Cathedral
ChristChurch Cathedral in Cathedral Square (2006)
Map
43°31′52″S 172°38′13″E / 43.531°S 172.637°E / -43.531; 172.637
LocationChristchurch Central City
CountryNew Zealand
DenominationAnglican
Websitechristchurchcathedral.co.nz
Architecture
Heritage designationCategory I
Designated7 April 1983
Architect(s)George Gilbert Scott
Benjamin Mountfort
Architectural typeGothic Revival style
Clergy
Bishop(s)Peter Carrell[1]
Designated7 April 1983[2]
Reference no.46

ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ,[2] is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, surrounded by Cathedral Square. It became the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Christchurch, who is in the New Zealand tikanga of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the building (mostly the spire): in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922, and 2010. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake destroyed the spire and the upper portion of the tower, and severely damaged the rest of the building. A lower portion of the tower was demolished immediately following the 2011 earthquake to facilitate search and rescue operations. The remainder of the tower was demolished in March 2012. The badly damaged west wall, which contained the rose window, partially collapsed in the June 2011 earthquake and suffered further damage in the December 2011 earthquakes.[3] The Anglican Church decided to demolish the building and replace it with a new structure, but various groups opposed the church's intentions, with actions including taking a case to court. While the judgements were mostly in favour of the church, no further demolition occurred after the removal of the tower in early 2012. Government expressed its concern over the stalemate and appointed an independent negotiator and in September 2017, the Christchurch Diocesan Synod announced that ChristChurch Cathedral will be reinstated[4] after promises of extra grants and loans from local and central government.[5] By mid-2019 early design and stabilisation work had begun.[6]

Since 15 August 2013 the cathedral community has worshipped at the Cardboard Cathedral.

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference register was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Aftershock swarm rocks Canterbury". 23 December 2011.
  4. ^ "SYNOD VOTES TO RESTORE CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL". Cathedralconversations. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. ^ Stuart, Gabrielle. "Christ Church Cathedral: Cost to ratepayers revealed". Christchurch Star. stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. ^ Walker, David (1 May 2019). "Milestone reached in Christ Church Cathedral rebuild as design advisers appointed". Stuff. Retrieved 13 August 2019.