The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most significant and monumental structure in the temple ensemble of the village, unmatched among monuments of the Nizhny Novgorod region of that time. The history of its construction is virtually unknown: the exact dates of the church's erection and the name of its initiator have not yet been established. It is believed that the cathedral was built in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first quarter of the 19th century with funds from the residents of Katunki at the behest of Emperor Alexander I.

The first attempts at restoring the cathedral began by the Nizhny Novgorod diocese in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The most active restoration work took place in the 2000s, when Archbishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas and Nikolai Polyakov, head of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod region, managed to attract the necessary funds to save the cathedral. From 2003 to 2006, the coastline was reinforced, which not only prevented the threat of the cathedral's collapse but also transformed it into a well-maintained embankment. Restoration work on the interior paintings was also carried out. On November 15, 2007, Archbishop Georgy consecrated the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In the book by writer and local historian P.B. Yeremeev, "The Arzamas Muse," it is mentioned that from 1805 for two years, the famous Arzamas artist A.V. Stupin painted the church in Katunki on the order of Prince Gruzinsky. Although the church is not named in the book, it is noted that ninety pictorial compositions on Gospel and biblical themes were created in it. Such a number of frescoes could only fit in the interiors of the Nativity Cathedral, allowing it to be dated to the early 19th century.

The main altar of the church is dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the right one to the apostles Peter and Paul, and the left one to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The church is built of large red bricks and plastered. The volumetric-planning structure of the church belongs to the cathedral type: the basis consists of a cubic, three-light, four-pillar square, covered by a system of sail vaults with openings and a light five-domed structure. Porticos of the Tuscan order precede the entrance to the church on three sides. A three-apse altar with a high conch roof is arranged across the width of the eastern facade. Above the four-pitched roof rise cylindrical light drums with arched windows, decorated with pilasters. The bulbous domes were covered "in scales" and adorned with stars. The finishes of the domes looked elegant: their cones tapered to such an extent that they seemed to disappear into the air.