The village of Kistysh was gifted by Peter I to the grandfather of the commander Ivan Suvorov, who served as a sergeant in the Streltsy Stremyannyy regiment and later became the General Secretary of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments. Peter I highly valued Ivan Suvorov and in 1705 baptized his son Vasily, who later became the father of the famous Generalissimo. At the age of 14, Vasily Suvorov became a personal attendant to the tsar and, as a senior officer, participated in important commissions both within the country and abroad. Vasily Ivanovich built a wooden church in the village of Kistysh in honor of St. Basil the Great. Over time, the church fell into disrepair and was partially destroyed. In 1780, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov began the construction of a new stone church with chapels in honor of the prophet Elijah and Alexander Nevsky at his own expense. In November 1782, the church was completed and consecrated. Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov participated in the services and prayed in the chapel of Alexander Nevsky.

In 1928, the church was closed, fell into decline, and was partially destroyed, with the bell tower being demolished.

Since July 2011, an initiative group led by retired Major General Cherkasov, having received the blessing of Metropolitan Evlogy of Vladimir and Suzdal, began the restoration of the ruined shrine. The Metropolitan issued a Church Foundation Certificate and blessed the collection of donations for the reconstruction of the church.

Over the past seven years, thanks to voluntary donations and the efforts of enthusiasts, repair work has been carried out: the foundation, external walls, dome, and pediments of the quadrangle, as well as the dome and walls of the altar have been restored. Both domes have been covered with roofing, windows have been installed, and both internal and external doors have been added.

By the end of 2017, the restoration of the altar and the external and internal walls of the quadrangle was completed. Thanks to joint efforts, conditions have been created for conducting church services.