A writer living in the United States has made a plea for the Catholic Christchurch Basilica to be restored. Writing in First Things, Stephen Schmalhofer opines: “Let us hope that Macauley’s unknown traveler will arrive with plenty of practice sketching the restored cathedral domes in Christchurch. “To honor the blood and sweat of the missionary New Zealand Church and Read more
The outgoing Bishop of Christchurch, Victoria Matthews, has said goodbye to her diocese with an attack on civic authorities over their handling of the future of Christchurch Cathedral. She was speaking at a special Choral Eucharist in Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral last Sunday. She said the Christchurch Cathedral restoration is being driven by “the wealthy and Read more
“Is the church called to be the first cousin to a museum or is it the place for the worship of a living God? “To reinstate a very damaged building, so people can say ‘we like the outside of it’, seems to me somewhat misdirected. “I wonder what an empty cathedral would be an icon Read more
On February 22, 2011 at 12.51pm I was in Christchurch having lunch with Bishop Victoria Matthews. I am ever grateful that her choice of restaurant meant we were sitting on large bench seats in a corner away from windows. As we sheltered under the sturdy tables, I learnt that in the advice “duck, cover and hold”, Read more
Eight religious leaders from all the major Christian denominations, including Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic, have written a letter to The Press calling for Anglicans to be “left to make decisions as to the future of the cathedral”. “The role of the wider community (including other Christian denominations) is to respect their decision (whatever it might Read more
On Sunday Bishop Victoria Matthews announced in a letter that members of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch’s synod would make the decision about the future of the Christchurch cathedral at its meeting in early September. A government-appointed working party has been trying to decided the fate of the building and its report, which is due Read more
Why is the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch worrying about how to fund rebuilding the Cathedral? After all the public land records show Diocese has $320 million “empire” of cash and properties. Why not, for example sell the Church of the Good Shepherd in Tekapo to help fund the rebuild? But a diocese, Anglican or Catholic, Read more
A grand vision of what could become of Cathedral Square and the relic of its earthquake-damaged Anglican cathedral was presented by computer graphics pioneer IAN TAYLOR last week. Bishop Victoria Matthews said although it was a “highly innovative and creative design”, the large area it encompassed meant it was difficult for the Anglican diocese to Read more
In the wake of the 2010-2011 Canterbury Region earthquakes the New Zealand Diocese of Christchurch has voted to take the next step towards a dramatic redrawing of its map. The Christchurch Anglicans met in a special synod on April 13-14, and chose to proceed on a path which could see the 46 parishes in and around Christchurch being significantly Read more
Three designs for the Christchurch’s Anglican cathedral were released last week as part of a call for public feedback before Anglican leaders decide the future of the cathedral next month. The restoration of the existing building would cost between $104 million and $221m, A new gothic building constructed with modern materials would cost between $85 Read more