Armenians appeared in St. Petersburg almost immediately after the founding of the city; the first settlers formed their community in 1710. At that time, they used to gather in private homes to perform the ceremonies of worship. The first petition for the construction of an Armenian church from Archimandrite Minas was submitted in 1714, but was rejected by the authorities. Only on September 25, 1725, the metropolitan Armenian community of 30 households secured the consent of the Synod to open a prayer house in a wooden building on the 3rd line of Vasilyevsky Island. In January 1740, Luka Shirvanov (Ghukas Shirvanian) received permission to build “a small stone Armenian church at his own expense”, but after the death of the Empress Anna Ioannovna the construction was suspended. In accordance with the manifesto on the free practice of church rites by all peoples who settled in Russia, published in July 1763, land plots were allocated in both capitals for the construction of churches of other faiths, as well as buildings associated with them. On May 22, 1770, following the petition of the head of the Armenian community I. L. Lazarev (Hovhannes Lazarian) “and other Armenians”, Catherine II verbally ordered to “allow them to build a church in St. Petersburg”.

The work was carried out according to the project of Y. M. Felten rather quickly, and already in 1772 the church was consecrated. Its construction cost 33 thousand rubles. I. L. Lazarev personally donated 30 thousand rubles for the construction of the temple, which did justice to the grand splendor of the center of the capital. For such a service, the community allowed him to build his own house on church land on the southern side aline with the development of the avenue (42 Nevsky Prospect). The residential building, constructed upon the project of Felten, cost Lazarev 50 thousand rubles. The construction of the northern wing was carried out a decade later. Lazarev paid for the construction of the buildings entirely with his own money and thereby strengthened his authority of the most influential person in the Armenian community.

On February 18, 1780, the Armenian Archbishop Hovsep (Argutinsky) with the participation of eight priests and in attendance of Prince G. A. Potemkin-Tauricheski consecrated the temple in the name of the Great Martyr Catherine, the heavenly patroness of the Empress. The church became the center of Armenian culture in St. Petersburg. A printing house and a national school, which still operates to this day, were opened under its jurisdiction.