The Christchurch Cathedral. Photo: Kris Vavasour / NZ Broadcasting School
The Anglican diocese of Christchurch wants to raise $2.5 million from parishioners to help fund the restoration of ChristChurch Cathedral.
It has been 13 years since the building was extensively damaged in the earthquakes.
A $160m project to restore the building had a budget shortfall of about $50m last year.
Anglican Bishop of Christchurch Peter Carrell said the project had received $25m in government funding and $10m from the city council.
He said the diocese had committed all of its insurance money, totalling $44m, so it was now appealing to the Anglican community in Canterbury and Westland to contribute.
"We've always said that this would require fundraising. We've had feedback which suggests that of course, first and foremost Anglicans need to give lead in this. We've certainly given a lead by putting our insurance funds in, and now we're wanting to give another lead by having individual anglicans contribute."
Fundraising to date had brought in about $24m, Carrell said, and they were revising how to complete the "complex" work and figuring out the total cost.
"If we can't raise the extra money we will have to consider our options, but we're not particularly thinking about that - we're focused on raising the money."
Carrell said the diocese had also hired British consultancy firm Global Philanthropic to help with finding the money, and construction work had not stopped on the site.
Last year, the ChristChurch Cathedral Reinstatement Project said the cathedral was due to be completed by 2027.
Carrell said a full project review, including a revised cost and restoration timeframe, would be released in April this year.
