In 1888, the miraculous icon of the Staraya Russa Mother of God was returned to Staraya Russa from Tikhvin. A church was built on Alexandrovskaya Street for its placement, which became the richest in the city in terms of decoration and number of icons. The funds for the construction, which cost 50,000 rubles, were raised by the townspeople, and the iconostasis was not gilded, nor were the walls plastered. In June 1889, the construction of the church began, and the stonework was completed in the same year. In the summer of 1891, the church was painted and equipped thanks to the efforts of the monastery's abbot, Archimandrite Father Mardarius, and generous donations. On August 31, 1892, the cathedral was consecrated, and shortly thereafter, Father John of Kronstadt participated in the consecration of the side altar in honor of Vladimir the Baptizer. With the completion of this church, the architectural ensemble of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery was finally formed.

The new church was built away from the ancient structures of the monastery, along the southern wall of the fence, and was executed in the style of late eclecticism.

Externally, the church was a long quadrilateral with an eastern semicircle and altar. In the center rose a large eight-window drum with a dome, topped with a small cupola and cross. Above the main altar and porch, there were also small cupolas with apples and crosses. The roof was covered with sheet iron painted with a copper color, and the crosses were iron, through and gilded. The dome of the church was supported by four columns connected to the walls by arches, which divided the church space into nine quadrilateral sections. The three western and three middle sections served as places for worshippers, while the three eastern sections were occupied by an elevated solea. In the southern part, separated by a wall, was the Vladimir side altar.

The church had four entrances, the main one facing Alexandrovskaya Street. The exterior walls were decorated with pilasters, friezes with cornices, and pediments in the shape of kokoshniks. The church had 43 windows with semicircular tops, arranged in one or two tiers. Together with the porch and altar, the length of the church was 39 meters, the width was 26 meters, and the height was 23.5 meters.

During the war, the church suffered minor damage: the dome was missing, the roof was damaged, and some plaster was partially lost. However, it remained abandoned for a long time and became severely dilapidated. In the 1960s, the remains of the destroyed church were rebuilt. The upper part up to the level between the floor cornice and the top of the apses was dismantled, the openings were changed, and the decor was plastered. The walls were raised, a reinforced concrete ceiling was made, and internal walls were installed. The premises were allocated for a children's sports school. The post-war fate of the icons and valuables remains unknown.