The warm church in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is the earliest of the surviving stone structures of the monastery. In 1735, an altar dedicated to Simeon and Anna was added to it, which was renamed three times in the 18th century until it was consecrated in 1818 in the name of the Tolgskaya Icon of the Mother of God. In 1867, an altar in the name of Alexander Nevsky appeared in the sanctuary of the church in memory of the miraculous salvation of Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich on April 4, 1866. Between 1815 and 1816, the Yaroslavl carver Kuzma Gavrilov Stolyarev created a new iconostasis in Moorish-Gothic style for 625 rubles, and Mikhail Petrov Stolyarev gilded it for 1350 rubles. In 1838, the church underwent changes: the windows were enlarged, the vaults were raised, the internal columns were removed, and the upper parts of the church were decorated with wall paintings. In 1892, the church was painted with oil paints. Significant stone construction in the monastery was carried out under the abbacy of Gordian, during which the modern ensemble of the monastery was formed.

After 1928, a club with various circles, a brass band, and a puppet theater was arranged on the second floor of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, while the first floor housed a kitchen, dormitory, and school. In 1937, new widescreen equipment was installed in the club for film screenings. However, the metal ties, which cast shadows on the screen, interfered with viewing, and they were cut with an autogenous torch. This led to cracks appearing in the ceiling and walls under the pressure of the heavy dome. In the 1960s, attempts were made to restore the ties, but they soon cracked, causing the vaults to collapse. By the 1970s, the building was in a deplorable state due to barbaric exploitation. The metal structures that reduced the load on the walls were cut to avoid interfering with film viewing, which was considered a more important art than ancient Russian architecture. The church remained uncovered for about fifty years, and its restoration seemed impossible. However, by 1999, the Church of the Exaltation was restored and consecrated by Archbishop Mikhail of Yaroslavl and Rostov on September 26 of the same year.