Commissioned by Stella and Donald Cullington, of Company Bay, the work is the pinnacle of Maia stained glass artist Peter Mackenzie's career.
He has been working on the commission, which featured several thousand pieces of custom-made French glass, for the past two years.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime project, and although it's not physically the largest I've done, it is the most complex and the biggest in terms of work and energy," he said.
Mr Mackenzie was first approached by the Cullingtons two years ago about creating a work which showcased New Zealand's multiculturalism as well as Dunedin's people, places, flora and fauna.
Dr Cullington, originally from the United Kingdom, was the director of music at St Paul's for four years in the 1970s.
He and his wife, a general practitioner at the time, fell in love with the city and have lived in Company Bay since 2003.
"We wondered what we could do that showed our love of this area and would give lasting pleasure to people," they said.
Both were thrilled with Mr Mackenzie's work.
"It's fantastic. It's amazing what he's done. He's interpreted it brilliantly, in the style we wanted," they said.
Mr Mackenzie spent about 12 months researching the commission. He imported glass especially made for the project from France and designed every detail.
Early settlers including John "Johnny" Jones, and Dunedin's first Christian missionaries, including Te Rauparaha's son Tamihana, were portrayed, alongside a large image of Christ and St Cecilia, the patron saint of music.
Polynesian themes featured throughout, such as the seven stars of Matariki and a Maori twin-spiral design symbolising the path between man and God, while Dunedin children appeared as cherubs playing musical instruments.
"Every element has some local tie to it," Mr Mackenzie said.
He used lead metal to encase the pieces of multilayered, multicoloured glass, which were etched, painted and stained to achieve intricacy and texture.
"Working the surface is very complex," he said.
Mr Mackenzie trained in Australia under an English master glass painter in the 1980s and returned to New Zealand in 1998.
The St Paul's work will be completed in the next few weeks and unveiled in mid-October.
