About two hundred years ago, it could be said that this church was located on a high bank of the Moscow River, where the Presnya River flowed into it. Now it is situated far from the water and is a dominant feature of two alleys. The church has been known since the late 17th century and has never been closed. Initially, it was wooden and stood right by the alley, on the site of the current bell tower.

In 1714, it was decided to build a new stone church, but the old wooden one was not demolished; instead, a new temple was laid nearby. This turned out to be a wise decision, as soon a decree from Peter I was issued, prohibiting stone construction in Moscow. The decree was lifted in 1728, and in 1734 the stone church was consecrated. After that, the wooden church was dismantled, and the new stone temple with a wooden bell tower ended up deep within the plot. Until the 19th century, the church remained in this form.

In 1804, the bell tower burned down, and it was decided to change the architecture of the church. A new three-tiered stone bell tower was moved to the red line of the street and was built in 1810, becoming an ornament of the church and an entrance to the temple, representing a unified whole with it.

The expenses and organization of the renovations were taken on by well-known parishioners. The bell tower was built with the participation of merchant Fyodor Rezhanov. Nikolai Ushakov, serving in the construction commission, was involved in finding architects. Doctor Matvey Mudrov made significant donations for the construction of the refectory and the wall paintings. Thanks to his efforts, a new chapel in the name of Sophia, the Wisdom of God, the patroness of his wife and daughter, was established.

In the late 19th century, new renovations and paintings were required, which were completed in 1898. The paintings on the eastern vault of the church and on the northern wall are done in the style of the frescoes of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. There are serious grounds to believe that they belong to the brush of V.M. Vasnetsov, who oversaw the wall paintings here. The church also features mosaics on the vaults, characteristic of Vasnetsov's craftsmanship.

The church was not closed during the Soviet years. Although it was robbed and the bells were removed, services continued. In the post-war period, the number of parishioners increased so much that it was difficult to enter the alley during holidays. With the revival of church life, the opportunity for the restoration of the temple arose, thanks to which the frescoes of V.M. Vasnetsov were uncovered.