In the mid-19th century, Georgievsk had wooden St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Protection Cemetery Church, which could not accommodate all those wishing to attend. Therefore, on February 20, 1852, the Society of Merchants and Citizens of Georgievsk decided to build a stone cathedral in the city and entrusted merchants Petrov and Vashkov to petition the relevant authorities.

In the 1850s, provincial architect Voskresensky developed a General Plan for Georgievsk, where he allocated a plot of 900 square fathoms in the market square for the construction of a new stone church with a fence.

In a letter from the mayor of Georgievsk, Gavriil Golovin, to the Caucasian Spiritual Consistory dated April 9, 1866, it was indicated that the cathedral would be dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

A total of 19,066 rubles and 73 kopecks were collected for the construction of the cathedral, which were kept by the trustees. The city society began the construction of the new church, planning to attract additional funds in the form of donations.

The first project of the cathedral, proposed by architect Nevensky from Pyatigorsk, was rejected. By order of Governor Georgy Vlastov, Voskresensky created a new project, which was sent to Bishop Theophilact for review on July 5, 1867. The bishop noted the absence of premises for the sacristy and the deacon's quarters, after which the project was revised. As a result, the cathedral became a two-altar church instead of a three-altar one as initially planned.

On November 6, 1867, Bishop Theophilact signed a decree blessing the start of construction. Oversight of the works was entrusted to the architect, the local dean, Archpriest Dmitry Popov, the trustees, and honorary citizens. The laying of the temple was to be performed by Archpriest Dmitry Popov.

On March 16, 1881, an Act on the completion of the temple's construction was signed, confirming its compliance with the approved drawings. On April 4, a report was sent to Bishop German regarding this.

On October 20, 1884, Bishop German submitted a report to the Synod requesting to rename the new stone Ascension Church to Cathedral and to make the wooden St. Nicholas Cathedral a parish church. On December 10, 1885, this proposal was approved by a decree of the Synod.

Documents regarding the fate of the Ascension Cathedral after the 1917 revolution have not been found. Locals reported that after the arrival of Soviet power, the cathedral was closed and used as a grain storage facility. Later, with the arrival of the Volunteer Army in 1918, it was reopened, but after an incident involving a murder, it was permanently closed. The cathedral, as a monument to Emperor Alexander II, did not survive the years of struggle against tsarism and religion.

In October 2014, with the blessing of Bishop Gideon, a monument to the Ascension Cathedral was erected at the intersection of Goriyskaya and Oktyabrskaya streets. The location was chosen to keep the monument close to where the cathedral stood and to harmonize with the cityscape. It is made of white marble and black granite with funds from a local benefactor. The sketch was developed by Deacon Vladimir Shalmanov, and the working project was carried out by LLC 'Industrial and Civil Construction.' The monument features marble plaques with images and explanations.