The current St. Michael and All Angels Church is the second of the same name to be built on the site. Anglican services were first held in Christchurch in a V hut on this site in 1851. The V hut was replaced by a wooden church, the first to be built in Christchurch, later the same year. Known initially as Christ Church it functioned as the Anglican Pro-Cathedral. Once it was consecrated in 1859 it became known as St. Michael and All Angels. By the late 1860s it was apparent that a larger church was required to accommodate the growing Anglican population and William Fitzjohn Crisp was asked to design one. Crisp had came out from Britain as an apprentice with the British architect, Robert Speechly, who had been appointed to supervise the building of the ChristChurch Cathedral in 1864. However, lack of money halted construction on the Cathedral shortly after the foundations were laid in late 1865. Crisp later became Speechly's partner and they worked out the remainder of their four year contract supervising the construction of other buildings for the Anglican Church Property Trustees. Crisp remained in Christchurch after Speechly left in 1868 and his previous association with the Anglican Diocese made him the logical choice as the architect for St. Michael's. However, problems with the construction of the building led to Crisp returning to Britain in 1871 and Frederick Strouts (1834-1919) was appointed as supervising architect in June of that year.

The church that was eventually opened in May 1872 owes much to the style of French Gothic architecture of the fourteenth century, which had been revived in Britain by Victorian architects. More specifically, links have been made to the style of George Frederick Bodley's church of St. Michael and All Angels in Brighton, Sussex (1859-1861), albeit with these influences translated into the vernacular material of New Zealand wood. Matai was the main timber used in the construction of St. Michael's, Christchurch, and it is one of the largest timber Gothic Revival churches in the Southern Hemisphere. Because of a lack of money the chancel was not completed until 1874-1875, and the planned bell tower and spire were never constructed.

From 1910 St. Michael's became renowned as a 'High' Anglican church and continues to be 'a centre of ritualism and Catholic spirituality, within the Anglican community'. These High Church associations can also be seen in the furnishings of the church.

Also associated with St. Michael's is the belfry, designed by Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort and built in 1861. The church's collection of stained glass windows, installed over the years, is also significant. The parish school, situated adjacent to the church, opened in 1851 and is the oldest Anglican school in New Zealand.

St. Michael and All Angels has strong connections with the Canterbury Association and the early European settlers of Christchurch, being built on land specifically set aside for ecclesiastical purposes. The earlier church on this site was the first to be built in Christchurch. St. Michael and All Angels served as the Pro-Cathedral for the diocese until 1881 and it has been a centre of High Church Anglican worship for 150 years. It is an outstanding example of Gothic Revival architecture in timber and is thought to be the only major work in New Zealand by Crisp.