The Shuya Spiritual School has been located in two-story buildings on Soviet Street since 1880. In 1884, a church was built with funds from the manufacturer Vasily Kiprianovich Rubachev, a hereditary honorary citizen of Shuya. It was situated in the courtyard, adjacent to the northern end of the school building. Previously, a low three-tier stone bell tower, erected in 1895 by merchant F.I. Gundobin, stood on the red line of the street. In 1901, a chapel dedicated to Fyodor Trikhina was added to the church.

The architecture of the building reflects an eclectic style with elements of classicism and Russian style. The small Church of Alexander Nevsky has a compact volumetric composition. The cross-oriented square base, whose facades are topped with triangular pediments, is joined by a narrower western narthex and a five-sided apse. The second, slightly lower apse belongs to the southern chapel of Fyodor Trikhina, connecting the temple with the educational building. The facade is adorned with a high profiled plinth, corner pilasters, panels on the main square, and smooth elements in other parts, as well as a profiled cornice with teeth. Large arched windows are framed by massive casings with a gable top. The entrance on the northern facade of the narthex is highlighted by an ornate metal canopy. In 1912, the library of the spiritual school had about 7200 books. The bell tower and the top of the church, as well as the interior decoration, have not survived, and the church premises housed a gym. Before the revolution, the church was non-parochial.

In the late 1990s, the temple was handed over to the believers and became a dependency of the Nikolai-Shartomsky Monastery, located on the territory of the Shuya State Pedagogical University.