The wooden Church of the Holy Trinity on Sparrow Hills is first mentioned in documents from the 15th century, in the will of Princess Sofia Vitovtovna, wife of Vasily I and mother of Vasily II, who owned the village of Sparrow. Until the early 19th century, the Sparrow Palace was nearby, serving as a summer residence for Moscow princes, tsars, and emperors. The wooden church was rebuilt several times until the construction of a stone church began in the early 19th century, completed in 1811.

The Trinity Church on Sparrow Hills played a role in the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. Before an important council in Fili, M.I. Kutuzov visited Sparrow and prayed in the local church.

Interestingly, the neighboring village of Goleniščevo, located in the area of the current Mosfilmovskaya Street, belonged to the Kyiv and Moscow metropolitans. Here, Metropolitan Jonah healed the boyar Vasily Kutuzov, which is reflected in one of the icons in the local church, also consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity. This event is connected to the double surname of Mikhail Illarionovich, Goleniščev-Kutuzov.

According to legend, Napoleon admired the view of Moscow from Sparrow Hills while retreating. During the French occupation of Moscow, the Trinity Church was not damaged: it was neither looted nor burned, and the decor remained untouched. In 1813 and 1814, the chapels of the church were consecrated, which had not been completed before the war.

The Church of the Holy Trinity on Sparrow Hills also avoided destruction in the 20th century. The Soviet authorities did not touch it, although in 1917 there was a Bolshevik point nearby that shelled the Kremlin. The church was not closed even during the years of the struggle against religion and during the construction of the new MSU building. The ringing of the bells continued, which was rare in Soviet times. Rare icons from the 17th and 19th centuries have been preserved. Today, the church looks almost the same as it did in the times when Kutuzov prayed in it.