The stone church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, also known as the church "on Rzhikha", "that on Shubin", "behind the golden grille" and "behind Gagarin's yard", was built in Stoleshnikov Lane in 1626. Before that, a wooden temple stood on its site, which existed since the times of Dmitry Donskoy. In the 14th century, nearby was the estate of the boyar Ioakinf Shuba, who signed the spiritual charter of Dmitry Donskoy, which gave the church one of its names, the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Shubin.

The church has repeatedly survived fires and destruction, but has always been restored, despite Peter I's ban on the construction of stone buildings in Moscow. The fire of 1812 spared the temple, although the entire surrounding block burned down. However, this year became tragic for the church: in September, Napoleon's soldiers shot the "fire starters of Moscow" at its walls, who died before the image of the Savior on the wall of the temple.

In 1822, the Resurrection chapel was added to the church, as after the fire of 1812, the parishioners of the Resurrection Church on Bolshaya Dmitrovka were transferred here. The construction was carried out under the guidance of architect A.F. Elkinsky with funds from parishioners and benefactors. At this time, the apse of the main temple was changed, and the bell tower acquired a classical appearance with Tuscan columns. In 1857-1858, the bell tower had to be rebuilt: it was dismantled to the first tier and rebuilt anew. At that time, with the funds of the Borisov brothers, a southern chapel dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian was built, and 8 bells were cast. In 1887-1889, with the funds of other parishioners, merchant D.R. Vostryakov and his wife, the temple was adorned with oil paintings.

In the 1910s-1920s, the regent of the temple was the famous composer Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov. It is believed that he officiated the funeral of the great Russian artist V.I. Surikov, who passed away on March 6, 1916, in the neighboring building of the "Dresden" hotel.

After the revolution, the temple did not survive. In 1922, it was looted and closed, and in 1933, the bell tower was dismantled to the lower tier. The building was used as a library of foreign literature. In 1958, it was planned to demolish the church for the construction of a multi-storey building, but the project was not realized.

A partial restoration of the building took place in the 1970s, when the decoration of the octagon with the dome was restored, as in the 1867 photograph. However, this did not mean the return of the church to the church. In the 1980s-1990s, it housed the printing house of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR, and only in 1991 did services resume in the church.