In 1568, the territory now known as Churkin Island was transferred to the Astrakhan Trinity Monastery. According to legend, the first church here was built in the mid-16th century by the founder of the monastery, the venerable abbot Cyril, and was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

In the 17th century, Churkin Uchug passed to the Astrakhan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. In the 1670s, an unusual inhabitant appeared here. According to legend, the executioner Laryk, who participated in the execution of the holy martyr Joseph, the Metropolitan of Astrakhan, received enlightenment through illness. Realizing his sins, he retreated to the lower Volga, digging a cave for himself on a hill near the uchug. For the torment inflicted on the saint tied to a log, he earned the nickname Churka. Spending years in fasting and prayer, he died and was buried by the monks. After that, other ascetics began to dig caves in this place. In the early 18th century, the Nicholas Church was moved to the 'High Hill,' as Churkin Hill was called due to its height. Thus, the monastery became known as Churkin.

In 1919, the monastery was closed. In 1930, the bell tower and cathedral were demolished, with bricks used for the construction of a fish factory in the settlement named after Volodarsky. All the skete buildings were destroyed, as well as a large part of the monastery structures. The former monastery housed a boarding school, a sanatorium, and a tuberculosis hospital. The last institution in these walls was a psychiatric hospital, closed in the early 1990s.

In the spring of 2004, the revival of the monastery began. In 2014, a miracle occurred: on June 22, the icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs began to exude myrrh. 'Tears' appeared on the images of Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra. On the day of the martyrdom of the Ipatiev martyrs, other images from this icon, painted by Astrakhan artist Vladimir Voronkov, also began to exude myrrh. Then, other icons started to exude myrrh as well. In November 2015, drops appeared on the images of Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, and Gregory the Theologian. Currently, 65 icons in the monastery are exuding myrrh.