After World War I and the 1917 revolution, over two hundred thousand Russians lived in Berlin, most of whom were members of the nobility fleeing the Soviet regime. The only functioning Orthodox community in the city at that time was the parishioners of a small church at the Russian embassy, built by the order of Nicholas II.

There was no church at the Soviet embassy, so the émigrés, many of whom lived in poverty and worked for food, raised funds and purchased several floors in a building near Kurfürstendamm, where they created a home church. This community came under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

In 1933, after Hitler came to power, the Orthodox community faced repression, and the church was handed over to the Hitler Youth. However, the church was soon revived, and Orthodox services continued throughout World War II. The 1936 Olympic Games, important for the Nazis ideologically, led to some relaxations, and the community was granted a plot of land to build a new church. The émigrés raised funds again and built a stone cathedral, next to which a Russian school and gymnasium appeared. In 1938, the church was consecrated, and priests continued to serve in prisons and camps, ministering to prisoners of war.

When the German army captured Serbia and destroyed Orthodox churches, Berlin priests led by the metropolitan protested, which surprisingly had no consequences.

After the war, Berlin was divided into sectors of influence, and in 1946, Soviet troops offered the clergy to leave the church. However, it was not closed, although the parish suffered due to political intrigues aimed at dividing the community. Priests were sent from West Germany, and they served under the protection of the German police.

The parishioners of the Church of the Protection can be divided into two groups: early-century émigrés and their descendants, such as Alexandra Obolenskaya, and youth, including Germans who have embraced Orthodoxy. Among the parishioners, there are more and more Germans, while Russians who left in the nineties quickly assimilate. Early-century émigrés help new refugees preserve their traditions.

Life in the Berlin community is not much different from parishes in Russia: many children and elderly people, Father Andrei performs rites and administers communion to people in hospitals and prisons. The number of Russian-speaking prisoners is decreasing as the children of the displaced integrate better into their new lives. On one hand, this is pleasing, but on the other, there is often no place for the Church in life in the West.