The Anglican Synod has decided to reinstate ChristChurch Cathedral.
In a decision revealed this afternoon, the church has announced it will now work with the Christchurch City Council and Government to begin the reinstating process.
The decision has come after a three-day gathering of the 225-member Canterbury Synod.
It's the first clear indication of the Church's intentions for the building, since it was ruined in the 2010/2011 earthquakes.
It has been more than six years since the Gothic-style 136-year-old cathedral was badly damaged in the 6.3-magnitude February 22, 2011 earthquake that devastated the Garden City.
The Synod was deciding between restoration, gifting the building to the Government, or demolition and replacing with a new cathedral.
Ahead of the decision by the church's synod, Christchurch politicians urged the Anglican Church to restore the earthquake-crippled Cathedral.
Regeneration Minister Nicky Wagner and Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel spoke to a 200-member synod yesterday at St Christopher's Church in Avonhead.
Mrs Dalziel described the cathedral devastated by the 2011 quake that killed 185 people, as the heart and soul of the city.
The Government and Christchurch City Council made an offer of $35 million and promised to fast-track the legislation if restoration was chosen.
Debate on whether the cathedral should be restored to its former glory, partly reinstated, or demolished and replaced with a modern new building have raged between the church, heritage campaigners and the public for the past six-and-a-half years.
Head of the Canterbury Anglican Church Bishop Victoria Matthews previously said child poverty and climate change were bigger concerns for the church.
A recent church-commissioned survey found the Christchurch community was evenly-split on whether the cathedral should be rebuilt or demolished.
