The Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas is the last and largest of the naval cathedrals of the Russian Empire, built in 1903-1913 in Kronstadt according to the project of V.A. Kosyakov in the neo-Byzantine style. The stauropegial status of the cathedral indicates its direct subordination to the patriarch. Since May 2013, it has been considered the main temple of the Russian Navy.

 
The initiator of the construction was the commander of the Kronstadt port, Vice-Admiral N.I. Kaznakov. The condition for drawing up the project was that the height of the dome must allow the cathedral to serve as a guidemark from the sea, and the cross of the naval temple must be the first thing that caught the eye of the sailor. In 1907, the construction was finished and the interior decoration began. The cost of building this church was 1,876,000 rubles. The consecration of the cathedral took place on June 23, 1913 in the Highest Presence.

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral was conceived as a monument to all fallen seamen. Using the language of images and Christian symbols, the Naval Cathedral proclaimed the idea of raising military service to the rank of spiritual achievement, emphasizing its inseparability from moral purity. The idea of highlighting patriotism was expressed in the remembrance of dead servicemen in prayer, as well as in the installation of commemorative plaques with their names and circumstances of death within the space of the temple – the image of the Kingdom of God.

Inside the cathedral were black and white marble boards. The black ones bore the names of naval officers who died in battle and in the line of duty. On the white marble plaques located in the altar, the names of the clergy, who served on naval ships and died at sea, were embedded. The sacristy museum collected relics related to the history of ships and naval crews, as well as evidence of the exploits of sailors. This is the only temple in Russia that every sailor could rightfully consider their own.

 
In 1929, after closing, the cathedral was converted into a cinema named after Maxim Gorky. The gilding was washed off the domes, the gilded parts of the icons were broken off, the marble iconostasis was dismantled, the mosaic icons, murals, relics from the gallery of naval glory and all church property were taken away from the church. 

The cathedral’s first liturgy in 75 years took place on December 19, 2005. The Great Consecration of the cathedral took place on May 28, 2013, when the church celebrated its 100th anniversary.