Christchurch Cathedral, Waiting to Be Reborn

Last updated on: January 21, 2016 at 10:36 am by Lori Erickson

Christchurch Cathedral, Waiting to Be Reborn 2016-01-21T10:36:06-06:00 Lori Erickson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

New Zealand’s Christchurch Cathedral was severely damaged in an earthquake on February 22, 2011. (Photo by Christchurch Cathedral)

Today’s post is my most recent column for the Episcopal News Service:

On a recent trip to New Zealand, I was saddened to learn that I wouldn’t be able to see Christchurch Cathedral, the symbolic heart of the city of Christchurch and the home parish for hundreds of Anglicans. Earlier this year I had followed the news accounts of the series of earthquakes that had damaged Christchurch, but until I visited in person I didn’t realize the extent of the damage. Months after the quakes, the center of Christchurch is still a tangled mess of collapsed and damaged buildings, including the stately Gothic-style cathedral that had graced its downtown since 1881. Even worse, while I was in New Zealand it was announced that the church is so damaged that it cannot be repaired.

In talking to local residents and reading the New Zealand newspapers, I was struck by how beloved Christchurch Cathedral is, even for those who are not Anglican. In a letter to the editor of one of the national newspapers, for example, a woman wrote of how the church needed to be rebuilt as a sign of hope for the entire country. She recalled how the Germans had rebuilt the Frauenkirche of Dresden, a church that had been reduced to rubble in the firebombing raids of World War II. Thanks to a fundraising campaign that brought in money from around the world, the damaged structure was laboriously rebuilt, brick by brick. It reopened in 2005 before a joyous crowd of 250,000 people, a symbol of a reunified Germany and the healing of wounds between nations once at war.

It’s interesting how churches can have such symbolic importance, even in our post-modern age. The medieval model in which the cathedral was the heart of a city has long withered, but sometimes a disaster like that in Christchurch reveals that churches still have a presence greater than their physical structure. These buildings stand with quiet dignity, havens of calm and peace in the midst of the bustle of contemporary life. While most passersby rarely step foot inside their doors, such sanctuaries nevertheless exude a quiet power. And if such landmarks are destroyed, there remains a gaping hole that cannot be filled by just another building made of steel or concrete.

New Zealand’s Christchurch Cathedral was officially deconsecrated on November 9 in a service that prepared the way for demolition crews to take down its damaged walls. Cathedral officials say that the church will be rebuilt, though the new structure will not simply be a reconstruction of what existed before. Instead it will combine old and new elements to reflect a re-born Christchurch and a revitalized parish, blending design elements of white New Zealand and Maori New Zealand just as the New Zealand Prayer Book so beautifully blends elements from the two cultures.

I have stood in awe before the rebuilt Frauenkirche in Dresden, marveling at how its walls incorporate aged, darkened bricks and newer, paler ones in a seamless intertwining of past and present. On top of the church is a golden cross given by the people of Great Britain and crafted by the son of one of the pilots who bombed Dresden in 1945. It bears this message: “Build bridges—Live Reconciliation—Bolster Belief.”

Christchurch Cathedral was destroyed not by human agency, but by geologic forces. But like the Frauenkirche, its rebirth has global significance, particularly for those of us who are members of the Anglican Communion. We who use the New Zealand Prayer Book—that marvelous volume filled with lyrical, striking images and liturgies—should be especially generous.

“With the bread we need for today, feed us,” reads a version of the Lord’s Prayer from that volume. “In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us.”

One day, we pray, these words will once again be said in Christchurch Cathedral.

Donations to the Christchurch Cathedral rebuilding fund can be made here.

New Zealand

Christchurch Cathedral

earthquake

Previous Post

December 21, 2011

The Creative Darkness

Next Post

December 31, 2011 Of Gratitude and New Beginnings

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aging & Spirituality Amish Anabaptists Animals Apocalypse Archeological sites Art and Spirituality Awards Belgian Holy Sites birds Blessings Books Buddhism Business & Spirituality Callings Cats Celtic Cemeteries Children Christianity church Colorado Creation Death Desert Spirituality Easter Economics Education & Spirituality Egypt Episcopal Church Faith Fear Films First Nations Food Forgiveness Germany God Good & Evil Good Friday Grace Gratitude Happiness Healing Hildegard of Bingen Hinduism History Holy Rover blog Holy Sites Holy Week Horses Iceland Illness Images of God Indigenous Spiritualilty Interfaith Interfaith Dialogue Iowa Islam Israel Japan Judaism LDS Church Lent Machu Picchu Martin Luther Media Meditation Monasteries Museums Music Music and Spirituality Musings Mysticism Native American Nature New Age New Zealand Norse History/Culture/Spirituality Orthodox Paradox Paranormal Peru Philosophy Pilgrimage Poetry Politics Pop Culture Pilgrimage Sites Prayers sermons Silence Social Media Spiritual writers Spirituality and Food Spirituality and Social Media Stone Circles Thomas Merton Turkey Uncategorized Unconventional Holy Sites Utopian communities Videos Virgin Mary Wicca Work World War I Writing Zen

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: David killed Goliath with a sword.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE