The Church of John the Theologian is first mentioned in documents from the early 18th century and is located beyond the Tver Gates of the White City, in the Bronnikov area. This parish church has been known since the 15th century and was the center of a settlement where craftsmen who made weapons lived. In 1570, foreign masters of saber-making were relocated here by the decree of Ivan the Terrible.

The wooden church existed from 1605, and in 1615 Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich gifted it an icon of John the Theologian. The stone church that replaced the wooden one was built in 1665, although work may have begun in 1652.

In the mid-17th century, the church territory occupied 25 by 25 fathoms and included the yards of church servants. To the east, the yard of Pyotr Bedrin adjoined, depicted on the plan of Moscow from 1768. In the late 1670s, a new cemetery and a shelter for 100 beggars appeared here.

The church consisted of a two-light quadrangle with five domes and a three-part altar. In 1694, the Nikolsky chapel was built. In the 18th century, the church's territory remained unchanged, and in the 1740s a new bell tower was constructed. After the plague of 1771, the cemetery was abolished, and its territory was transferred to Prince I. A. Vyazemsky.

In 1812, the church was damaged by fire but was restored in 1814. In 1836, a chapel in honor of Mitrophan of Voronezh was arranged. In 1842, the church was renewed by Metropolitan Philaret. The architecture of the church remained unchanged, except for additions to the bell tower.

In the early 20th century, the church properties generated income, and part of the buildings was rented out. In 1933, the church was closed, the building was handed over to a theater, and its architecture was partially destroyed. The icon of John the Theologian is now in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, while the whereabouts of the icon of the Mother of God "Consolation" is unknown.

Until 1960, there was a dormitory in the church, then workshops for the theater. Large openings were made in the building for decorations, and a garage was arranged. Restoration began in 1956, but active work on the bell tower started in 1973. In 1993, the building was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Restoration continues, with plans to restore the fence and free the territory. The church is located on the site of the archaeological monument of the Bronna Sloboda.