A unique architectural monument of the early 16th century. Historians suggest that the church with the refectory was built at the initiative of Grand Duke Vasily III in honor of the birth of the heir, the future Tsar Ivan IV, who was prayed for in the Kirillov and Ferapontov monasteries.

The time of the church's construction is evidenced by a carved inscription on a white stone slab, which states: "In the year 1530, this church began to be built in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos, in honor of her Annunciation, with the refectory, under the pious Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich of all Russia, under the Archbishop of Rostov Kirill, under the Abbot of Ferapontov Ferapont. And it was completed under his son, the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilievich of all Russia. And it was consecrated under Archbishop Kirill and the same Abbot Ferapont in the year 1531 on November 21, on the feast of the Most Pure Theotokos in honor of her Entry."

The Church of the Annunciation is the earliest surviving building in northern Russia that combines the functions of a temple and a bell tower. It is completed with a bell tier featuring five arched spans and three rows of kokoshniks with a drum. The bell tier housed a secret room and a storage for the monastery's manuscripts. The elegant single-domed church is divided into three tiers, with the church itself occupying the second. Its square volume is topped with a closed vault.

The exterior of the refectory and the Church of the Annunciation is characterized by simplicity: the walls, divided by pilasters, are pierced with window niches framed by thin rolls. The massive single-column refectory and the church are aligned along an east-west axis and raised on a high undercroft. The refectory is spacious, square in plan, with four cross vaults. The interior of the refectory is the earliest preserved in its original form in the Russian North for buildings of this type.

In the refectory and church, the original internal air duct system used for heating the entire complex has been preserved. Narrow internal staircases connecting all levels of the building have also survived. In the undercroft of the refectory, one can see a rare example of cleanly executed brickwork of the vaults.