From the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, stone construction was actively carried out in the monastery thanks to donations from benefactors and patrons. In 1862, a hospital building was constructed in the monastery, where the house church was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God 'Joy of All Who Sorrow'.

After the revolution, an agricultural artel was registered in the monastery, consisting of more than 160 sisters. In the spring of 1919, a state farm was established on the monastery's land, with lands, inventory, part of the livestock, and some residential buildings confiscated. On April 13, 1928, the presidium of the Pavlovsky district executive committee decided to close the Ababkovsky monastery, dissolve the community, and liquidate the property through the financial department. The residents were expelled, and the monastery buildings were first transferred to the land management for the placement of agricultural points, and then to a rest house. During the Great Patriotic War, the remaining buildings housed the Higher Military Topographic School of Leningrad. In the post-war years, various educational institutions were located in the monastery: a school for Komsomol activists, a school for cinematographers, and a special school for underage girls.

Since February 1995, the destroyed monastery began to be revived. Metropolitan Nikolai Kutepov of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas consecrated the house church in the igumen's building in the name of the icon of the Mother of God 'Joy of All Who Sorrow'.