The Church of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist is the first church built in the city of Tsaritsyn, now known as Volgograd. The construction of the Tsaritsyn fortress began on July 2, 1589, with the erection of a wooden church in honor of Saint John the Baptist by the Cossacks.

Ten years after its construction, the church burned down but was restored in 1615. In 1664, it was rebuilt in stone, becoming the first stone building in Tsaritsyn. Despite the capture of Tsaritsyn by the Razin rebels in 1670, the church continued to function. In 1704, a new temple was erected in the style of "octagon on square," characteristic of that time.

Tsar Peter I visited this church, and at the end of 1722, by his order, an altar was added to it. Under Catherine II, the John the Baptist Church became a parish church.

With the arrival of Soviet power, the condition of the church worsened. In 1922, church utensils were confiscated, and in 1932, bells and icons were taken away. On February 27, a decision was made to close the church, and on April 3, 1932, the temple was blown up. A restaurant was built in its place. During the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, the Germans used the foundation of the church for one of their bunkers.

In the 1990s, it was decided to restore the church. On September 10, 1995, the laying and consecration of the site for its construction took place. In 2000, the church was opened, and the first liturgy in the new building was held on Easter 2001, conducted by priest Oleg Kirichenko. The rector of the church is His Grace Metropolitan German of Volgograd and Kamyshin, and the serving priest is Archpriest Oleg Kirichenko.

The sketch for the church's fresco was prepared by the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Andrey Vystropov, but the fresco was never completed.