Construction works, supervised by Ivan Starov, lasted for six years. In the eventual variant, the five wide domes were placed on squat drums, vaguely reminiscent of the Hagia Eirene. The church was consecrated on 28 May 1788 in the presence of the Empress. During the two decades that followed, the Imperial Academy of Arts had the interior adorned with Neoclassical paintings. A detached two-storied belltower was added considerably later, in 1905, to a design by Leon Benois.

In 1784, the cathedral was to be the chapter church of the newly established Order of Saint Vladimir. The first dean was archpriest Andrey Samborsky - the religion teacher of tsarina's grandsons.

In 1817, Alexander I of Russia gave the cathedral to a hussar regiment of his Leib Guard, which was quartered in Sophia. During the rest of the 19th century, the regiment had the cathedral transformed into a sort of military museum, its walls lined with marble plaques honouring the hussars' victories. Near the altar, for instance, were placed the banners captured by General Cherniaev from the Khan of Kokand.

In 1934, the Communist government had the cathedral closed down, with marble plaques and precious furnishings either nationalized or stolen.

In 1989, the Russian Orthodox Church resumed worship there. The same year, a bust of Alexander Nevsky was added nearby, by way of commemorating the 750th anniversary of the Battle of the Neva.

The complete consecration after the restoration took place on May 19, 1999.

In 2003, a monument to the Leib guard hussar regiment was erected south of the cathedral.

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