[2][3] The church was built between 1817 and 1842 in a cruciform plan, with a dome at the intersection of the aisles in the style of classicism.

The church is located on the former site of a Polish merchant district, near the present day Independence Square.

[citation needed] To commemorate the visit of Russian Tsar Alexander I in Kyiv the Polish owner Antoni Sawicki built, with the consent of the authorities, a wooden church on the site.

After 1905, the tsarist authorities eased restrictions on churches other than Russian Orthodox.

After the fall of communism the building was renovated and became the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr (Dioecesis Kioviensis-Zytomeriensis, Єпархія Київ-Житомир).