The church received its name from the main ancient altar in the cold temple, dedicated to the "Meeting of the Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir." In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was referred to as the town church, while in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was mentioned in documents as the church "near the Powder Tower." This tower, a remnant of the city's fortifications, was demolished in 1821. The exact time of the founding of the warm Vladimir church is unknown, but the inscription on the icon shows that a wooden church already existed in 1549. Until the last quarter of the 17th century, all church buildings were wooden. In 1684 and 1689, the construction of the first stone buildings began: the warm temple in the name of Archangel Gabriel and the church bell tower. The old wooden church was moved to the Toshenskaya volost. The construction was financed by the funds bequeathed by a former parishioner, "trading guest" Gabriel Martynovich Fetiev, who conducted business in many cities of Rus. In his will, he specified the architectural forms of the buildings. The warm Gabriel-Archangel church was two-storied and had one dome. The lower floor originally had basements that were rented out as storage. In 1854, with funds collected by former parishioner and church elder A.V. Zakharov, a temple was arranged in the lower floor with an altar in the name of the Venerable Anthony the Great and Sergius of Radonezh. In the same year, Zakharov financed a two-story stone extension to the western side of the church, where the upper floor housed the sacristy, and the lower floor contained the entrance to both churches and a room for the caretaker. In 1857, the entrance to the church was rebuilt, marking the last reconstruction of the warm temple. Numerous additions significantly changed its original appearance.

On the upper floor of the warm Vladimir church, there were three altars. The main altar was dedicated to Archangel Gabriel, according to the will of G.M. Fetiev. The second altar, in the name of the Venerable Theodosius of Totma, was located in the refectory by the southern wall and was arranged with the funds of parishioner Ekaterina Fyodorovna Ryazanova in 1799. The consecration took place on October 9 by Bishop Arseniy. The third altar, dedicated to Saint Great Martyr Catherine, was located by the northern wall of the refectory and was arranged by Ryazanova's daughter, Ekaterina Dmitrievna, in 1808. The consecration was conducted by Bishop Evgeniy. In the lower floor of the Gabriel-Archangel church, there was an altar in the name of the Venerable Anthony the Great and Sergius of Radonezh, arranged in 1854 with funds collected by A.V. Zakharov.

The interior decoration of the warm church was covered with paintings that differed so much from the generally accepted Orthodox images that in 1856, the Spiritual Consistory appointed a special Commission to inspect it. The paintings were preserved, but during repairs in 1870, they were painted over. The church housed many valuable ancient icons and items of church utensils, representing great artistic value.