The cathedral in Porozhki dates back to the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The first church there was built between the 1570s and the 1580s in a landlord’s estate. Like the majority of churches in Rus, the Annunciation Church was made of wood.
The recorded history of the parish dates back to 1801, the year that the wooden Annunciation Church burnt down. The church in Porozhki was restored in 1807. This time, the church was built of stone and had three altars, the Annunciation Altar, the Altar of Sts Florus and Laurus the Martyrs, and the Altar of St Nicholas the Wonderworker.
A local legend explains the origin of the Florus Altar. An icon of Sts Florus and Laurus washed up the Perekhoda River from Staraya Russa, against the flow, and arrived at a spot near the church. The icon stopped opposite the church and just floated there. People pulled the icon out of the water and brought it to the church. A second parish was founded.
Before the Revolution, the parish included 20 chapels.
