The Diocese began its active existence on the day of his enthronement at Ballarat in Christ Church Pro-Cathedral on 11 August 1875.

A history of St Paul's Bakery Hill contends that it was on 12 October 1851, when an open-air service conducted by the Revd J. Cheyne from Burnbank was held in a tent.

Yet another Anglican source plumps for the Revd Charles Perks of St Peter's, Eastern Hill who visited and officiated at an outdoor service under the escarpment later overlooked by Christ Church.

Following the survey of the township of Ballarat, a large block of land in Lydiard Street South was set aside for church purposes.

[1] In September 1854 collections were taken up for a fund to build a "church and parsonage", services in August being held in the court house.

The basalt church, designed by Lane in 1854, was finally completed in 1857 by Backhouse and Reynolds of Geelong as contractors for a price of £2,000.

The women of the parish took on the task of sewing the table linens and soft furnishings for the church, led by Loftus Lynn, wife of Ballarat's first solicitor.

Adam Loftus Lynn was a leading member of the early church, and he imported a house which was constructed on the site of the Ballarat Club.

[citation needed] The congregation asked the Melbourne architect Leonard Terry, who had designed the banks in Lydiard Street, to undertake additions to the existing building in 1867.

Henry Caselli, who arrived in Ballarat in 1855, and became a member of the Christ Church community, was at some point appointed diocesan architect.

He designed many churches around Ballarat and always gave half his services gratuitously, as well as being a generous donor to building funds.

Early in 1882, Caselli and Figgis called tenders for the bishop's registry, council chambers and other facilities for Christ Church.

At the time of Caselli's death in 1885, he held a prominent position as a leader of Christ Church, and was accorded a farewell by the bishop on 5 March 1885.

There was a ceremonial laying of the foundation stone of the cathedral on 30 November 1888, when the Governor, Sir Henry Loch, came to do the honours.

But the Depression of the 1890s made money scarce, and the failure of a number of banks saw significant losses suffered by members of the diocese.

New plans were submitted by the architectural firm of Smart, Tappin and Peebles, with work resuming between 1903 and 1908, before it finally stalled.

Bluestone for the chapter house was quarried at Redan, and Waurn Ponds stone was used for the doors, arches and traceries.

In the 1980s, the diocese sold the old cathedral site (the chapter house) and it was used as a disco, called Hot Gossip, for about a decade from June 1988.