Architecture, Art, Music, Inspiration, Stillness
Experience sacred spaces of Wellington which draw on centuries of faith and tradition. Choose how many you want to visit. A fee of $15 per visit is sought, with major discounts for booking early and for multiple sites. Take time out for a ‘pilgrimage’ to these special places.
Tour Schedule & Full Details
Thursday October 30
12 noon – Old St Paul’s 34 Mulgrave Street.
Opened in 1866. Former Anglican pro-cathedral, a nationally significant timber gothic revival landmark open to the public. Talk by Peter Lineham on religion and national politics, entitled 'Establishment and Exotic Churches in Wellington'.
https://www.visitheritage.co.nz/visit/wellington/old-st-pauls
1.30pm Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, 2 Hill Street.
Includes a special performance of the organ. Built 1964, completed 1998. The mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington. Art Deco and Neo-Byzantine architecture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_Cathedral_of_St_Paul
3pm Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 40 Hill Street
Built 1901, strengthened in 2024. The Roman Catholic parish church for Thorndon and the seat of the Archbishop of Wellington. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart_Cathedral,_Wellington
4.30pm. St Andrew's on The Terrace, 30 The Terrace.
Includes a special organ performance and light refreshments. Presbyterian church founded 1840 on Petone Beach. Built 1923 in the style of Classical and English baroque architecture. https://www.standrews.org.nz/our-history https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/3571/St-Andrew-s-on-the-Terrace
Friday, October 31
9.45am Central Baptist Church, 46 Boulcott Street
Founded: 1877, Built 1941. Played host in 1882 to the formation of the Baptist Union, which has more than 250 churches. https://www.central.org.nz/
Friday October 31, 12:15 Unity Books, 57 Willis Street
Peter Lineham gives a free public talk "Why Does Wellington Have a Reputation as Godless?"
Unity Books, https://www.unitybooks.co.nz/stores
Join Peter Lineham for a free public talk during Sacred Spaces 2025.
As part of this year's Sacred Spaces programme, Professor Peter Lineham examines Wellington's secular reputation in this public lecture.
11am St Mary of the Angels 17 Boulcott Street
Founded 1843. Built 1922, strengthened 2013 – 17. Gothic of French influence with stained glass art. Catholic parish church for Wellington central. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary_of_the_Angels,_Wellington
1.30pm Beth Al Orthodox Jewish Synagogue and Holocaust Centre, 80 Webb Street.
Founded: 1840s, with first synagogue in 1873. Built: 1977 for worship and community purposes. https://synagogues-360.anumuseum.org.il/gallery/beth-el-synagogue/
3pm Theosophical Society, 19 Marion Street
Built 1918. Founded in New York, 1875, to study different religions, wisdom and recent scientific studies to the big questions of life. https://theosophy.nz/membership/local-centres/wellington , https://wellingtoncityheritage.org.nz/buildings/151-300/208-theosophical-society-hall
4.30pm St Peter’s Church, 211 Willis Street plus talk at 5 p.m. by Peter Lineham. What is different about religion in Wellington?
Anglican, built 1879 in Gothic style with Kauri. Talk will be about the diversity of church traditions. https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/229/St-Peter-s-Church-Anglican
6.15pm. St Peter’s Garden Room, 211 Willis Street. A pie and a pint (and other refreshments) to share experiences of visits to sacred spaces.
Saturday November 1
9am St John’s in the city (Presbyterian), 170 Willis Street
Founded 1856 and rebuilt after a fire in 1885. A Gothic exterior with emphasis inside on the preacher’s pulpit and a gallery. https://wellingtoncityheritage.org.nz/buildings/301-450/350-st-johns-church-willis-street?q=
10.15am. Christian Science Reading Room, 197 Willis Street. Morning Tea available.
Founded by Mary Baker Eddy in Boston,1879, Wellington since 1914. At 197 Willis Street since 2022. https://christiansciencenz.org/about
11.15am Wesley Church, Taranaki Street
Founded by Wesleyan missionaries active with Te Aro pa in 1839; Built 1880 on the outskirts of settlement. English language, Fijian, Samoan and Tongan congregations. https://www.wesleychurch.org.nz/ https://www.wellingtoncityheritage.org.nz/buildings/151-300/283-wesley-methodist-church-and-hall
2.45pm Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3 Hania Street, Mt Victoria
Founded following migration from Greece in the 1920s, with the church built in 1970 by a Greek community in Mt Victoria. https://www.greek.org.nz/church/church-history/ https://mtvictoria.history.org.nz/the-greek-orthodox-church-in-hania-street/
4pm Society of Friends (Quakers), 7 Moncrieff Street, Mt Victoria.
First in New Zealand in Nelson, 1842, Wellington built 1929. Founded in the 1600s, without clergy and rituals.
https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/3648/3648