The cathedral of the Brazilian diocese of white émigrés from Russia was founded in 1934. On August 6, 1939, the solemn consecration of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral took place in São Paulo, which became one of the leading Orthodox churches in the country. Over time, an archive and a rich library appeared here.

After World War II, the cathedral was joined by new parishioners arriving from the USSR and China. Like most parishes in Brazil, the cathedral refused to unite with the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Currently, the cathedral is led by priest Father Konstantin Busygin, a descendant of an officer of the Drozdov artillery brigade.