The Bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, said he is still considering whether to restore the cathedral, knock it down and build a new one, or move to a new site.

In May, Martin said he was sceptical the $105 million restoration budget for the cathedral would not increase. He also questioned the morality of raising the $70m shortfall for the cathedral when it could be spent on other priorities in the city.

He has also put all planned Catholic building projects in Christchurch on hold while a review of parish and church numbers in the city is conducted.

"We are looking at the number of priests and where our people are and where the city has developed," he said.

"It is an overall review. Do we have too many churches across the city? [We will look at] the financial implications of insurance and running all those buildings."

He said the review may result in fewer Catholic parishes in the city.

"I would be surprised if we didn't, but people are very connected to their parishes so we have to be very sensitive to that."

Martin said the review would conclude at the same time as a decision is reached on the cathedral.

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On Tuesday, the Venerable Doctor Peter Carrell was announced as the new Bishop-Elect of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch. Carrell, a Cantabrian, is well-known and respected throughout New Zealand for his teaching and preaching.

He is presently the Diocesan Director of Education and Director of Theology House - as well as Archdeacon of Pegasus (Christchurch East). He is a board member at Christ's College.

He has been an Anglican priest since 1987.

The new bishop was nominated by the Canterbury synod in mid-August. The General Synod, which is the national Anglican ruling body, and the House of Bishops then voted on the nomination.

Peter, who is married to Teresa Kundycki-Carrell, has deep roots in Christchurch, and in the Anglican expression of the Christian faith.

Peter, the son of Bishop Brian Carrell and his wife May, grew up in an evangelical Anglican home.

He began serving his curacy in the Parish of Shirley in 1987. He then embarked on postgrad theological studies at the University of Durham, from where he was awarded his doctorate in 1993.

He returned to the Diocese of Nelson where he served as assistant priest in Stoke, Vicar of Blenheim South (from 1995 to 2001) and Ministry Educator from 2001 to 2010.

Peter, Teresa and their family returned to Christchurch just in time for the September 2010 earthquakes.

The bishop-elect said he supported the restoration of the cathedral because it was a "particularly iconic building in the life of Christchurch, Canterbury and New Zealand."

"I felt that the principal monetary objection was dealt with by the government's offer and we should accept it."

"As the owners of that iconic building, there would be a lot of benefits to reinstating the icon. I look forward to us being able to resume worshipping God in this great cathedral in the heart of our city, but also the cathedral will be a drawcard for visitors to the centre of our city."

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The rebuilt Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament would include a part of the original building, but would not entirely replicate it.

Some areas, including the sanctuary, cannot be saved.

And because of budget constraints and the demolition of the buildings in the rear section, the plan does not allow for the dome to be returned.

However, after four years of testing and modelling, it is believed the nave can be retained.

The plan is not a guarantee. An application will be made to the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to deconstruct the badly damaged areas surrounding the main body.

Cathedral Management Board chairman Lance Ryan said by doing so, church engineers will be able to undertake an in-depth study of the state of the nave.

"Those studies could then reveal if the nave is too badly damaged to be saved, or the ground conditions too unsuitable, and in that case we would have no option but to move to a full demolition of the Cathedral," he said.

The church hopes to raise around $15 million to help with the work which should be completed 2019-20.

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Marcus Brandt put his restoration design before a 50-strong crowd at the Court Theatre on Sunday. He called it "The People's Steeple".

Brandt, who has been restoring historic structures for 30 years, said the cathedral was the most controversial heritage project he had ever worked on.

"Anywhere in the world this would be a no-brainer. It wouldn't be in the news headlines because it would just be restored," he said.

In his plans, an "earthquake-resistant timber spire" the same size and shape as the original, would be erected in three sections like an extending telescope. The spire would be hoisted into place by thousands of Cantabrians and would be "therapeutic" for the city.

He also offered restoration plans for the "wounded", but not shattered, cathedral. By shoring it up from the outside and slowly securing and tightening the stones from the bottom up, he believed the building could be restored to its former glory without anyone having to go inside.

He estimated the project would cost up to $55m and said it could be completed "with the bells ringing" by 2014, the third anniversary of the earthquake.

But a Press survey reveals that most Cantabrians polled want Christ Church Cathedral demolished, 54 per cent of those polled favouring demolition and 42 per cent calling for it to be saved.

The poll also showed that most Canterbury residents do not want to spend public money saving the building or running the temporary cardboard cathedral.

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