 In that for an Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool (1884–86) his choice of Sir William Emerson's odd design of mixed styles for the building, which was to be built on a sensitive site close to St George's Hall, caused a controversy within the RIBA which was aired publicly in the press.The chosen design was not built and the present cathedral by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880–1960), begun in 1903 on a different site, stemmed from a later competition.Christian's report on the competition for St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh (1872) was thought to be 'a model of its kind' though the donors chose the design by Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811–78) before seeing Christian's report which favoured George Edmund Street's design.