In 1894, Protopriest John of Kronstadt visited Samara. After his visit, Bishop Guriy suggested that the residents raise funds to build a church in Zasamar sloboda. They decided to erect a wooden church on stilts to avoid flooding. The solemn lighting of the future building took place on October 13, 1896, and the laying of the church occurred on June 2, 1897.

Construction progressed actively, and within a year the church was already rising. However, the opening of an independent parish and the consecration of the church in Zasamar sloboda were delayed for almost a year. These events took place on October 1, 1899, on the feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin. One eyewitness noted that the church builders and the residents of the sloboda were thrilled, and the ringing of the bells of the newly consecrated church echoed late into the evening.

A telegram was sent to John of Kronstadt with the message: "Having consecrated the church in Zasamar sloboda, built in memory of your visit to Samara, we remember you with prayer and respect. Honorable Father Protopriest. Bishop Guriy and the Builders of the church."

The church stood until October 13, 1932, when the presidium of the Samara City Council decided to close it across the Samarka River.

Only 70 years later was the church remembered. On September 27, 2001, with the blessing of Archbishop Sergey of Samara and Syzran, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the rector of the Ilyinsky Church in Samara, Priest Viktor Pronichkin, consecrated a cross at the site of the destroyed Exaltation Church, which stands there to this day.