The church of blessed Procopius of Ustyug was built according to the design of architect A.S. Nyurenberg, with construction managed by architect A.N. Serov. The church was laid on December 18, 1961, and consecrated by Archbishop Philotheus. The final consecration was conducted by Metropolitan Philaret on September 5, 1965.

After World War II, around 10,000 Russian refugees, mainly "Ostarbeiters," arrived in Hamburg and its surroundings. Archimandrite Vitaly (Ustinov), the future First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, took care of them. Communities and temporary churches were established in displaced persons camps, totaling 200 in West Germany. In Hamburg, at Harfestehudweg 27, a barrack church was consecrated in the name of blessed Procopius of Ustyug, who hailed from nearby Lübeck.

In 1953, this temporary church became the cathedral of the vicar archbishop of Hamburg and Northern Germany, Philotheus (Narko), who led it for 30 years. He initiated the construction of a stone church for 350 people in Hamburg, laying its foundation on December 18, 1961, according to A.S. Nyurenberg's design. The building, in the Pskov-Novgorod style, with a two-story extension for the priest, was constructed by architect L.N. Serov on a plot provided by the city. Financial support was provided by Protestant and Catholic churches, and the construction cost 410,000 marks.

The church was consecrated on September 3, 1965, by Metropolitan Philaret, with the participation of the archbishops of Berlin and Germany, Alexander, Hamburg's Philotheus, Geneva's and Western European Antony, and Bishop Nafanail.

The church building features a green roof with a blue dome adorned with golden stars. Above the entrance rises a small onion dome, similar to the one adorning the bell tower on the southern facade. The snow-white walls are pierced with narrow slit windows. The interior walls are painted in the ancient Russian style by artist N.B. Meindorf, who also created the icons for the iconostasis, assisted by his daughter Elena Nikolaevna. The interior is decorated with a two-tiered embossed chandelier, gifted by an Armenian.

The Hamburg cathedral became the first Russian church and archiepiscopal see in northern Germany. This outstanding work of church architecture of the Russian diaspora in post-war Europe is distinguished by harmonious proportions and a picturesque exterior composition, as well as a richly decorated interior. Until 2005, the rector of the church was Archpriest Ambrose Bakhaus from the Orthodox Germans. For them, services are held once a month in the Nikolskaya house church.

Since 1945, an Orthodox church with the same name as in Hamburg has been operating in Lübeck, in the chapel of the Protestant church of St. Catherine. Father Joseph Vovnyuk serves in both churches.