The Orthodox parish in Chicago was founded in 1882 when a home church of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir was consecrated in a rented space on North Noble Street. The parish was under the jurisdiction of the Aleutian and Alaskan, and later the Aleutian and North American dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was served by Priest Alexey Tovt, who came from Minneapolis.

The community was primarily composed of small groups of Orthodox immigrants from Carpathian Rus and Galicia, as well as Greeks and Serbs.

In 1891, thanks to the missionary work of Saint Alexey Tovt, a Uniate parish joined the Orthodox parish in Chicago.

In 1892, the home church was moved to Racine (later Centre) Street, near Madison Street, and consecrated on June 7. At this time, the parish became independent.

In 1895, Priest Ioann Kochurov was appointed as the parish rector. During this period, the Three-Hierarchs Church in Strittore was attached to the parish.

Between 1895 and 1898, 86 Uniates and 5 Catholics joined the Orthodox Church. The number of permanent parishioners in the Chicago temple reached 215. The Holy Nicholas Brotherhood was established at the church, which was part of the 'Orthodox Society of Mutual Aid.'

In 1899, Priest Ioann hired the famous American architect L. G. Sullivan to build a new St. Vladimir parish house at the corner of Leavitt and Haddon streets.

Tikhvin Icon

Since 1950, the parish was the repository of the Tikhvin Icon until its return to Russia. Initially, the rector and custodian of the icon was Archbishop John of Riga (Garklavs), and later his adopted son, Archpriest Sergey (Garklavs), who dedicated his life to preserving the icon. According to Archbishop John's will, the icon was to return to Russia only after the revival of the Tikhvin Monastery. In 2004, the icon was ceremoniously returned to the Tikhvin Assumption Male Monastery.

Architecture, Decoration

The church was built in the style of Russian provincial church architecture. L. Sullivan studied the architecture of many famous Russian churches during the design process. It is possible that the basis was taken from the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Church at the Tatarskaya station in Tomsk province, built in 1897.

Modern Church

With the increase in the number of parishioners, the need for a new church building arose. Funds for its construction were raised by Father Ioann in 1900 during a trip to Russia. The construction was partially financed by Emperor Nicholas II, who allocated $4,000 to the Building Committee.

The laying of the new church took place on March 31, 1902, with a project developed by L. G. Sullivan.

The first service in the church was held on March 25, 1903, by Bishop Tikhon (Bellavin) with the co-serving of Archpriest Ioann Kochurov. The consecration of the church took place in August of the same year.

In 1923, the church was granted cathedral status, and in 1978 it became the cathedral of the Diocese of the Midwest and Chicago.

In 2002, the cathedral was completely renovated.