The church received damage in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. Repairs were under way when the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake struck, when the church building suffered major damage including collapse of the chancel and most of the transepts. The church was "damaged beyond the point of repair". Workers repairing damage on the inside of the 1876 Mountfort-designed part of the church were having lunch outside when this part of the building collapsed. The church was demolished in September 2011 amidst much controversy. Heritage advocates claimed that the church was of higher importance than ChristChurch Cathedral and more should have been done to try and save it, or it should have at least been dismantled by hand to save important architectural features like the ceilings, but instead diggers smashed everything up. Bishop Victoria Matthews defended the demolition, stating that her "priority has to be humans and the safety of the community. It wasn't the time to take chances." A time capsule containing the words of the consecration was recovered from underneath the nave.