In 1867, land was allocated for a skete near the Innokentievsky spring, and in 1872, the construction of a wooden church began. In 1874, on the site of the Zhilkinsky skete, which had long served as the abode of Saint Innokenty of Irkutsk, a church was built in honor of the Holy Archangel Michael. Here are two healing springs. The church was consecrated on June 27, 1876, in honor of the Archangel Michael and other Heavenly Powers. The church is small, intended for a few hermits of the Ascension Monastery, rather than for a large number of believers. It is located at the beginning of one of the largest neighborhoods in the city, in the northwestern part, on a small territory. Previously, extensive lands of the famous Irkutsk Ascension Male Monastery stretched here.

The first Irkutsk bishop, Saint Innokenty, often stopped at the spring while passing through Malaya Elan, resting on the shore of a small lake and praying. An icon of the saint still adorns the chapel above the spring, which is still called the Innokentievsky spring. The surroundings and the railway station, despite new names, were named after Saint Innokenty at that time.

In June 1945, the church was reopened, and Alexander Dobrokhotov became the rector. Under him, two chapels and a rectory were built in 1948. In 1953, a major renovation of the church was carried out, changing its shape and cross. The church is surrounded by a small cemetery with a miraculously preserved grove. Nearby is a new two-story building of the church school, built between 1994 and 1996. In 1994, a chapel was erected over the Innokentievsky spring, and three years later, an icon-painting workshop was built.