By Lee Kenny of 
The Civic Service of Thanksgiving took place in the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral on Sunday Photo: Stuff / Peter Meecham
Queen Elizabeth II had an "aura imbued with aroha", the congregation was told during an emotional but uplifting sermon at Christchurch Transitional Cathedral.
The late sovereign died just over two weeks ago after reigning for 70 years and seven months. She was head of the Commonwealth and 'Defender of the Faith'.
A special service was held at Christchurch's 'Cardboard Cathedral' on Sunday evening and hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects and remember her remarkable life.
Held on the eve of Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day, the solemn service was attended by local dignitaries, members of the Anglican church and other faiths.
The Queen put "service before self", said Bishop Peter Carrell.
"(She had the) ability to inspire everyone's respect and devotion and to make even world-famous celebrities nervous about meeting her," he said.
"That aura was imbued with aroha, with love."
The congregation was welcomed by the Very Reverend Lawrence Kimberley, dean of Christchurch, who said they had come together "to give thanks for all that she has meant to us and to our nation".
"We remember with gratitude her long life spent in the service and devotion to all her people [...] and for her faithfulness in living a life of devotion to God."
Also in attendance was Christchurch deputy mayor Andrew Turner who recalled the moment he discovered the Queen had died.
"When I heard the news on that early Friday morning that her majesty had passed away [...] I was struck by the notion that this really was the end of an era," said Turner.
"The end of the second Elizabethan Age."
The congregation reflected on the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Stuff / Peter Meecham
The Queen visited Christchurch 10 times between 1954 and 2002 and sent messages of support "during some of our darkest hours, after the earthquakes and after the mosque attacks", said Turner.
The traditional Anglican service also involved mana whenua and the New Zealand Defence Force, with a reading by Lieutenant Commander Grant Boore.
Representatives of other Christian churches were in attendance as well as Interfaith leaders.
Prayers were led by Reverend Andrew Doubleday, president of the Methodist Church of New Zealand and were followed by readings by local students Hayley Jiang and Augustus Elworthy from Cathedral Grammar School, Benji Ward from Christ's College and Tehya Laws from St Margaret's College.
Christine Hainstock, president of the Royal Commonwealth Society's Canterbury branch read a verse from the Gospel of John, from the New Testament.
Hymns were sung by the Cathedral Choir and included Cantique de Jean Racine and Ubi Caritas. The service was concluded with the congregation singing God Save the King.
On Saturday evening the Royal Commonwealth Society hosted its first Recipients' function in Christchurch for two years.
Amongst those receiving Citations were Sir David Carter KNZM, Professor Frank Frizelle ONZM, Farid Ahmed MNZM, Mataio Brown MNZM and Yu-Shiun Tang QSM - who at the age of 101 is still active in the Chinese community.
"This was a historic event, given it will be the last Queen's Honours ceremony after 70 years of her reign," said Christine Hainstock.
"King Charles III will from here on be bestowing honours on deserving citizens of the Commonwealth."
* Look for full coverage of the Memorial Service and Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day live on RNZ throughout the day Monday.
