As early as 1580, there were wooden brotherly cells and a church with two altars on the island: the upper one was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and the lower one to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In the 17th century, another church was built in honor of St. Michael Malein, the patron saint of the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fyodorovich. This dedication was not accidental, as Prince Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky, a cousin of the tsar, provided significant support to the Romanovs during the Time of Troubles.

Stone construction in the monastery began in the late 17th century under Prince Mikhail Yakovlevich Cherkassky. With the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, in 1688, Prince Mikhail ordered the construction of a church with a refectory, cells, a front wall with gates, a bell tower with a church, and a fence. That same year, craftsmen from the village of Kadnitsy were invited, led by the renowned architect Pavel Sidorovich Potehin. A few years later, the stone Kazan church was consecrated, followed by the gate church in honor of St. Michael Malein, and later the main cathedral of the monastery, the Trinity Cathedral, was built, in the western corner of which was the tomb of the monastery's founder, Hieroschemamonk Makary.

After the revolution, the monastery faced a tragic fate. In the late 1920s, it was closed, and the buildings were used for housing and workshops. Then began the destruction of the architectural ensemble: the Trinity Cathedral, Kazan church, monastery walls, and bell tower were destroyed, and only ruins remained of the church of Michael Malein and the main building. When the remnants of the monastery were handed over to the Church, only one tower remained.

The revival of the monastery began in 2007 with the blessing of the archbishop, now metropolitan, of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, Georgy. The bishop entrusted nun Iosif Egasova with the restoration of the monastery, and work on the island began to flourish. The first residents were assisted by local residents, the administration of the Pavlovsky district and the city of Vorsma, as well as volunteers. In 2010, the restoration of the bell tower was completed, on June 28, the foundation of the Trinity Cathedral was laid, and on August 14, the altar of the church of Michael Malein was consecrated. On September 18, 2011, the first Divine Liturgy was held in the revived Trinity Cathedral, led by Archbishop Georgy with the co-servicing of Bishop Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk. Then, the reburial of the remains of the monastery's founder, schemamonk Makary, took place. Work began in the monastery to restore the church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.