In 1916 a large marble altar, the work of Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli, was installed in the 1905 Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Its contentious removal in 1974 was part of a major reordering of the interior during a conservation programme. Opinions were seen to be sharply divided about the altar's artistic merit, religious meaning, and importance to members of the congregation. The language and actions of those involved in the altar's history demonstrates this divide.  Similarly, the fate of  the iconic Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, in Cathedral Square, damaged but not destroyed in the 2010-2011 earthquakes, was hotly contested. The Church wanted demolition but many citizens, not all of them practising Anglicans, did not and fought to save it. An examination of the arguments of those involved reveals a wide range of interpretations of the Cathedral's significance for Anglicans and for the future of the city. The materiality of Cassioli's altar and Christ Church cathedral has received both positive and negative attention in these debates. Relevant beliefs about of sacred spaces and specific cultural contexts over time are also examined.