The first mentions of the Church of Cosmas and Damian in Barysh appear in the land books of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich and Patriarch Filaret Nikitich, dating back to the early 17th century when the church was ravaged by "Lithuanian people." In the 18th century, the wooden church was restored in 1744 by landowner Pyotr Afanasyevich Bakhtin. By the early 19th century, it had fallen into disrepair, and between 1829 and 1834, Colonel Mikhail Petrovich Bakhtin built a stone church in honor of Saints Cosmas and Damian on its site.

The church is designed in the Empire style. The main architectural element is the high cube of the church with a massive round lantern drum and a hemispherical dome. Four-columned porticos, now lost, were attached to the sides of the cube. The domes of the church and bell tower have also not survived, and many architectural details are missing. The three-tiered bell tower, rising above the building, is unusual. Its tall square base with arches and a massive attic served as the entrance to the church, above which was a smaller square tier for the bells with arched openings, topped with a cylindrical tier with a domed roof.

Next to the church is the grave of Mikhail Petrovich Bakhtin (1768-1838). In his youth, he served in the Leib-Dragoon Pskov Regiment, fell in love with a girl who became his fiancée, but tragically died before the wedding. Bakhtin deeply mourned the loss and fell ill but managed to recover. After retiring with the rank of colonel, he returned to his estate. Bakhtin actively participated in preparing the militia for the Patriotic War of 1812 and was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir IV degree. In 1833, without heirs, he donated 1.5 million rubles to establish a cadet corps in Oryol. Later, he donated another 10,000 rubles and sold his estate, directing the proceeds to the Oryol cadet corps. Emperor Nicholas I awarded him the Order of Saint Vladimir II degree and conferred the title of major-general of cavalry. The cadet corps was named Bakhtin Cadet Corps. A monument in the form of a cross with a figure of a warrior once stood at Bakhtin's grave, but only the pedestal remains today. In 2005, a new black granite slab with a transliterated inscription was installed at the grave.

In November 2008, the church, which had fallen into disrepair, was recreated in another location. The new Church of John of Kronstadt in Bryansk closely resembles the Church of Cosmas and Damian in Barysh, except for the taller, four-tiered bell tower.