Community of the Sacred Name, Former Anglican convent in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Community of the Sacred Name was a former Anglican religious compound in central Christchurch featuring a chapel, novitiate building, and residences arranged across the site. The structures displayed different architectural styles constructed over a span of years in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The community was established in 1893 when Edith Mellish arrived from London to create a group of deaconesses at the request of Bishop Churchill Julius. Growth followed with new buildings designed by notable local architects over the next two decades.

The name was adopted in 1912, when the deaconesses became a community of religious sisters and dropped the earlier title Sisters of Bethany to avoid confusion with another community. The site on Barbadoes Street housed their convent, chapel and novitiate until the 2011 earthquake.

Visitors should know the site was heavily damaged by earthquake activity and no longer displays its original full structure. Access and conditions have changed significantly due to preservation and recovery efforts at the location.

Some of the damaged timber buildings were transferred to a local charity and received substantial restoration funding. This means portions of the original structures continue to serve a purpose rather than disappearing entirely from the cityscape.