The cathedral was established in 1606, built by the hundreds of thousands of Iranian Armenians who were forcibly resettled by Abbas the Great in his new capital as part of his scorched-earth policy in Armenia during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618).

[1] The varying fortunes and independence of this suburb across the Zayande River and its eclectic mix of European missionaries, mercenaries, and travelers can be traced almost chronologically in the cathedral's combination styles and contrasts in its external and internal architectural treatment.

The cathedral consists of a domed sanctuary, much like an Iranian mosque, but with the significant addition of a semi-octagonal apse and raised chancel usually seen in Western-style churches.

The delicately blue and gold painted central dome depicts the Biblical story of the creation of the world and man's expulsion from Eden.

Pendentives throughout the church are painted with a motif of a cherub's head surrounded by folded wings, typical of Armenian art.