The women's almshouse originally appeared in the village of Bolshaya Pitsa in the Nizhny Novgorod district, where in the late 18th century lived peasant Marfa Dmitrieva. After becoming a widow, she went to the Sarov Monastery for advice on her future life. There she met the venerable Seraphim of Sarov, who blessed her for a life of asceticism in prayer and fasting, preserving her widowhood in purity.

In 1871, the Nizhny Novgorod Spiritual Consistory officially opened the women's almshouse in the name of Archangel Michael. The local landowner Alexander Mikhailovich Troitsky became the patron, assisted by his wife Yevdokiya Vasilyevna. After the opening, the number of women in the almshouse significantly increased. The sisters lived according to the monastic rule, prayed daily, and attended services at the local Trinity Church on holidays.

On November 20, 1879, the Malo-Pitskaya almshouse was officially opened and renamed in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” at the request of the sisters.

After the monastery was closed in the 1930s, various organizations and institutions of the local collective farm were established on its territory. A secondary school for children from nearby villages was opened here, and families of teachers settled in the monastic cells. An orphanage for children from remote villages was created. The cathedral church was destroyed, and a school stadium was built in its place. In 1942, two hundred children from besieged Leningrad arrived here, and a children's home was established in the former monastery buildings, which existed until 1959. By 2000, all the buildings of the monastery were destroyed.

In December 2013, the revival of the monastery began with the blessing of Metropolitan Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. In 2005, due to a decrease in the number of students, the school in the village of Malaya Pitsa was closed, and the building along with the territory was transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese. On December 28, 2013, an icon of the Mother of God “Economissa,” created on Mount Athos specifically for the monastery, arrived at the monastery with a cross procession from Dalny Konstantinov. On March 11, 2014, Metropolitan Georgy held a meeting on the restoration of the monastery, discussing the project to convert the former school building into a cell building with a domestic church. On May 22, 2014, a ceremony was held to lay the foundation of a church in honor of the Assembly of Archangel Michael. The laying ceremony was conducted by Metropolitan Georgy. On June 9, 2014, the monastery solemnly welcomed the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” painted specifically for the monastery. The meeting and prayer service were led by Metropolitan Georgy. The icon was brought from Dalny Konstantinov with a cross procession, in which local residents and clergy participated. The prayer service took place at the site of the former church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” where a football field had been during Soviet times. After the prayer service, the metropolitan blessed a cross erected at the site of the altar of the Sorrows Church.