Historians associate the founding of the chapel with Ivan the Terrible. In 1557, the tsar ordered the construction of a chapel in honor of the birth of his son Fyodor and dedicated it to his patron, Theodore Stratilates. Initially, the chapel was called Fyodorovskaya. According to legend, the site for the chapel was chosen not by chance: it was in the village of Sobilovo that Tsarina Anastasia gave birth to Ivan the Terrible's son while the royal family was traveling on a pilgrimage to Pereslavl or returning from there. The village has long since disappeared.

The chapel may have originally been wooden. Ivan the Terrible entrusted the Fyodorov Monastery with its care and transferred 37 desyatins of land around it. The exact date of the construction of the stone chapel is unknown. Its style is attributed to the Russian ornamentation of the 17th century, but if it was built during this time, it would have been before 1653, when Patriarch Nikon banned tent-shaped churches.

The chapel features a high, faceted tent on an octagon, which stands on a square base. The lower part is unusual: the square base rests on four massive pillars connected by arches, which were previously adorned with "weights." All sides of the chapel, except for the tent, are covered with carvings, columns, friezes, and tiles. In the center, there used to be a wooden cross, which is why the chapel received a second, more well-known name. Travelers would stop here to pray before their journey.

By the end of the 19th century, the chapel had fallen into disrepair. Its restoration was entrusted to archaeologist and academician Vladimir Vasilyevich Suslov, a specialist in ancient Russian art and architecture. In 1889, he took measurements and sketches, after which the chapel was thoroughly renovated, possibly partially relaying the brickwork.

During the Soviet era, the chapel was abandoned, deteriorated, and overgrown with bushes. The tent of the chapel was hardly visible from the road, especially in summer. Due to the inability to lock the chapel, the pillars suffered from vandals who left their names on the bricks, partially hidden by whitewash. In the 1990s, the monument was remembered, and by 1999, funds were allocated for its restoration.