The main church of Totma, the Epiphany Cathedral, was originally located within the walls of the ancient wooden fortress or kremlin. Local historian and priest P. P. Arsenyevsky believed that the first church was built here around 1543. After a fire in 1743 that destroyed the fortifications and the wooden Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral, the construction of a stone church began. Its lower floor was consecrated in 1749 in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord. This church was considered one of the best examples of Totma Baroque. The stamps decorated all the inter-window spans on the walls, although they did not differ in variety of forms, as seen in the panorama drawing of Totma from the early 19th century, which has survived to this day. The Epiphany Church and the neighboring Kazan Church with cartouches are clearly visible on it. However, on June 14, 1815, the upper Nativity of the Virgin Church burned down and was rebuilt by 1822 according to the design of architect I. A. Fokht. From 1863 to 1872, the cathedral building was significantly expanded according to the design of P. V. Ikonnikov to accommodate more parishioners, and nothing remained of the original Baroque appearance.

The new appearance of the main church of Totma raised questions among contemporaries. Konstantin Sluchayevsky, who visited Totma in 1885, described the Epiphany Cathedral as follows: "With five domes, a very tall bell tower painted yellow, green domes, which is unattractive, the stone dome is only central, the others are wooden on long necks. The iconostasis in the Renaissance style with Corinthian columns, above the royal gates under a high arch, the Last Supper, painted in oil, the central dome inside also has four slopes. The church had 7 altars: in the lower warm church in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord, in the chapels on the right, in the name of Archangel Michael, on the left, Saint Dmitry of Rostov, in the upper cold church, in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin, in the right chapel, in the name of the Tambov Icon of the Mother of God, in the left, in the name of the apostles Peter and Paul and the great martyr Panteleimon."

During Soviet rule, after a fire that left the cathedral without domes, the building was converted into a cinema called "October" in 1929, and in our time, it houses the city cultural center, which still exists within its walls.