The Cathedral of the Protection of the Holy Virgin, belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, was founded in 1945 and is located in Salzburg, in the Lehen district. The German name of the church is Russische Orthodoxe Kirche Maria Schutz.

After World War II, Salzburg became an important center of Orthodox life for Russian refugees in Austria, as Vienna was divided into occupation zones, and the Nikolsky Cathedral was located on the territory of the Soviet embassy. In 1956, when Catholics stopped providing their church for Russian services, the bishop organized a home Protection Church on the first floor of the former barons' castle Tinen-Adlerflicht. It could accommodate only 20 people, and many had to pray in the hallway. Orthodox Christians also gathered at the Nikolskaya Church in the refugee almshouse, which lasted for three decades, and from 1962, in the Catholic Church of St. Jerome on Mühlner Hauptstraße, 6.

On May 29, 1959, a plot of land was purchased for 49,000 marks for the construction of a new church near the Salzach River. The project was developed by architect Evgeny Salpius, an émigré from the Baltic states, and construction progressed slowly. Despite his age, the bishop traveled to the USA to raise donations. The new cathedral was consecrated on June 26, 1964, by Archbishop Stefan and Archbishop of Berlin and Germany Alexander (Lovchiy). Representatives of local Catholic and Protestant dioceses attended the ceremony.

After the war, the Union of Orthodox Austrians operated at the church, representing the interests of all Russian Orthodox refugees before the authorities. After the death of Archbishop Stefan, who was buried in the city cemetery, the diocese was led by Archbishop Anthony (Bartoshovich) of Geneva and Western Europe. With his death in 1993, the church lost its status as a cathedral, and the Austrian diocese became part of the Austrian deanery of the German diocese.