The oldest church in the Golovinskaya volost was located in the village of Kotovo. The first mention of it appears in the Pistsovye books of the Uglich district and is dated 1620: "The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is wooden, cell-like, and it has images, books, vestments, bells, and all kinds of worldly church buildings." The priest was Karp Filippov. The temple stood on the banks of the Nemoshni River and had one altar. Externally, it resembled a simple wooden hut. Everything necessary for the church, including the building, utensils, and icons, was acquired with the funds of the parishioners. Until 1697, the parish included the village of Knyazhovo, but after the construction of a new church there, it became an independent parish.

In 1766, a new wooden church was built in Kotovo, and in 1807 it was replaced by a stone one with two altars: in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God and St. Catherine the Great Martyr. The new temple, like the previous one, was built with the funds of peasant parishioners and was characterized by simplicity of architecture. It was likely constructed according to the same design as the church of Tsarevich Dmitry in the field. They had similar features: composition, altar, and a two-light temple part, all four parts arranged in a line "like a ship." The interior was decorated with fine stucco, with evangelists and saints depicted under the cornice, and there was a tall iconostasis. In 1836, Anton Lukin, the founder of the dynasty of rural painters Gusev-Muravyov, painted the icon "Saint Mitrophan." In 1901, artist Ilya Yartsev executed frescoes funded by peasant Nikolai Grigoryevich Grigoriev from the village of Ratmanovo. The vaults featured scenes of "The Resurrection of Christ," "The Meeting," and "The Annunciation." The church also depicted local saints, such as Macarius of Kalazin and Paisius of Uglich.

In the mid-19th century, the Assumption Church owned 36 desyatinas of land, and the parish included the village of Kotovo and the villages of Rostovtsevo and Muravyovo with 481 parishioners. In the early 20th century, two more villages, Gorki and Baskachevo, were added to the parish. The priest and the psalmist regularly instructed the parishioners.

Despite the anti-religious policies of the Soviet government, the church continued to operate in the 1920s and 1930s, but was closed in 1939. The building was used as a warehouse until 1967, after which it fell into disrepair. However, believers continued to visit the former temple. In 1942, priest Vasily Preobrazhensky, who had been released from exile, arrived in Kotovo. He settled with Iraida Osipovna Tikhova, and a secret home church was arranged in her bathhouse. Tikhova was accused of anti-Soviet activities and exiled. Upon her return, she continued to care for the church, tidying it up and decorating it for holidays. After her death, the church was left unattended. The temple is now in a deplorable state, with only the cemetery in use. In 2002, Iraida Osipovna Tikhova was canonized, preserving the memory of the temple.