It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Troyes. The cathedral , in the Gothic architectural style, has been a listed monument historique since The house where they lived is believed to have stood on the same site as the cathedral; and excavations in the 19th century found traces of Gallo-Roman building under the sanctuary. The first church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 9th century, but it was badly damaged by the Norman invasions at the end of the same century.
It was rebuilt by Bishop Milo through about in the Romanesque style. Fragments of the sculptural decoration of this old church were found in and are displayed in the south collateral aisle of the present church.
In the 12th century, the Romanesque church was enlarged with the addition of a bell tower and a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. At the urging of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux , the Council granted official status to the Order of the Knights Templar , which became immensely influential throughout Christendom. In a fire destroyed much of the town, and badly damaged the cathedral. Once the construction was underway, the Bishop departed on the Fourth Crusade in , and brought back to Troyes a collection of precious relics for the cathedral treasury.
The new church was constructed in the Early Gothic style, inspired by the earlier Basilica of Saint Denis and Sens Cathedral , and by Chartres Cathedral and Notre Dame de Paris , which both were under construction at the same time. Work was well along by when the lower portions were completed and the upper walls were begun. Unfortunately, in a hurricane struck the half-finished structure, destroying the lower collateral aisle on the south side of the choir and damaging the upper walls.
The upper walls were rebuilt between and , and the builders took advantage of the extra time to adopt a more modern element first used at the Basilica of Saint-Denis ; they filled the walls of the triforium , at the midlevel of the wall, with stained glass, bringing an abundance of light into the middle of the church. The transept was finally vaulted in about , and the spire was raised over the transept, but due to a series of economic difficulties, work slowed down.
