Cross or Cathedral

The cathedral in the centre of Christchurch was badly damaged in the 2010 earthquake. Now it is turning into a controversy. The Anglican Church is building a temporary cardboard cathedral on another site nearby, using some of the insurance money that they received for the damage to the cathedral. Now a group advocating the restoration of the damaged cathedral has gained a court decision against the cathedral trustees stating that the insurance money cannot be used for the temporary cathedral, but must be used to repair the damaged building.

Now the Anglican Church has released three options for the damaged cathedral. The first is to repair the damage to the existing cathedral. This will cost twice as much and take twice as long as others. The second option is to destroy the damaged building and build a replica from earthquake resistant materials. The third option is to build a modern cathedral on the site of the damaged cathedral, taking a few artefacts across. Popular support for a modern cathedral is quite strong, but there is also staunch support for the repair option.

Resolving these issues could take a long time, but that does not matter much. The cathedral casts a dark shadow over the square during winter, which tends to keep people out. I would prefer to see people coming into the square and using it for recreational activities. So if no cathedral is built, it might be an improvement.

The open area in the centre of the city where the cathedral is sited is called Cathedral Square, but it is actually the shape of a cross. I think that an empty cross is a very appropriate symbol to have at the centre of a city called Christchurch.