The monastery, known as the Mother of God Feodorovsky, was founded on the banks of the Volga in the early 13th century at the site of a wooden chapel where the Feodorovskaya icon of the Mother of God was located. According to legend, Yuri Dolgoruky founded the monastery and the city in 1152. In 1238, the city was destroyed by Batu's troops, and the monastery burned down. Modern historians doubt the existence of the monastery in the 12th century, as there is no direct evidence. The "Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" mentions the prince's tonsure but does not specify a particular monastery. The "Tale of the Appearance and Miracles of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God in Kostroma" from the 17th century speaks of the transfer of the icon from Gorodets to Kostroma, but not of the existence of the monastery.

Archaeological excavations have not found a cultural layer from the 12th to 14th centuries at the supposed site of the monastery, but they have not disproved its existence either. The place where the icon was located was plundered and burned. The icon was considered lost, but years later it was found again. Legends about this event vary. The icon did not return to the monastery, but a miraculous copy appeared here, becoming the main shrine of the Feodorovskaya church.

Between 1263 and 1282, Gorodets became the capital of the principality, and the monastery became its main monastery. In the 14th century, the future saint Paul Obnorsky lived here. The monastery existed until the 15th or 17th century, when the area was resettled, and the monastery was abolished.

The monastery was restored on March 20, 1700, with the blessing of Patriarch Adrian, thanks to the efforts of church elders I. Yudin and S. Osokin. By that time, the Volga had changed its course, and the monastery was left far from the shore. In 1700, a wooden church was built here in honor of the Feodorovskaya icon with an altar in the name of Alexander Nevsky. In the 18th century, the monastery changed status several times. In 1764, it was decided to abolish it, but thanks to the petition of Bishop Theophan Charnutsky, it became a non-staff monastery. In June 1870, the monastery received the status of a 2nd class dormitory, and its abbot became an archimandrite. In the 19th century, the monastery was located at its current site, which became part of Gorodets. In 1927, the monastery was closed, and its buildings were used for a post office, school, and hospital. The cells and the Church of Saint Panteleimon have been preserved.

The monastery houses a revered copy of the Feodorovskaya icon, one of the most venerated in Russia. On August 29, 2008, the tradition of the cross procession in Gorodets was resumed. On January 29, 2009, 12 bells made of a bronze, tin, and silver alloy were consecrated. The bells, weighing 2.2 tons, were donated by the manager of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, Andrey Kozitsyn. On May 27, 2009, the Holy Synod blessed the opening of a male monastery in honor of the Feodorovskaya icon. The abbot appointed was Hieromonk Augustine. In July 2009, a prayer service and the consecration of crosses for the domes of the Feodorovsky Cathedral took place. In August, the installation of the faience iconostasis was completed, with icons painted by the sisters of the Tikhvin Monastery. This iconostasis became the third in the churches of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese.