The history of Orthodoxy in Novaya Zemlya begins in the 17th century, when Igumen Feodosy from the Antoniev-Siy Monastery was tasked with sending a priest and a deacon to the islands in the Arctic Ocean. However, there are no records in the archives indicating whether this order was fulfilled. The first reliable information about churches and chapels in Novaya Zemlya dates back to the late 19th century, when planned colonization of the archipelago began.

Before the revolution, there was a dependency of the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery in Novaya Zemlya, where eleven monks lived. During the Soviet era, church life was interrupted. To this day, the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Belushya Guba, which is the administrative center of Novaya Zemlya, has been preserved.

The church was built in 1913. The Nicholas Church in Belushya Guba also served as a school and a pharmacy. Over time, the village retreated from the shore of the bay by about a kilometer, and the church ended up outside its boundaries. The building was used for various economic purposes and remained in a semi-ruined state.

Revival began in 1997, when Bishop Tikhon consecrated the first stone for the future church in Novaya Zemlya. In 1999, the first rector of the parish, Hieromonk Innocent (Ruskikh), was appointed there. Over eight and a half years, he gathered an Orthodox parish, restoring the connection with Orthodoxy that had been interrupted during the Soviet years.

On September 16, 2006, Bishop Tikhon of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory conducted the rite of the Great Consecration of the St. Nicholas Church, which is the northernmost in Russia.