In 1895, M. T. Popov, a teacher at the Tambov Women's Gymnasium, fell seriously ill, and the doctors could not help him. In despair, his relatives brought a mantle of Saint Pitirim from the Tambov Cathedral and placed it on the sick man. The next morning, the doctors confirmed Popov's complete recovery, attributing it to the miraculous effect of the mantle. Documents confirming this event were handed over to the cathedral's rector, and the miracle was officially recognized as a consequence (Decree of the Tambov Spiritual Consistory dated October 31, 1897, No. 15384).

In gratitude for his healing and in honor of Saint Pitirim, state councilor M. T. Popov founded a Real School and a private gymnasium at his own expense, naming it "Pitirima." The exact date of the gymnasium's opening is unknown, but documents indicate November 1905. The first mention of the preserved documents dates back to 1905.

M. T. Popov, the owner of the gymnasium, appealed to the Tambov Provincial Zemstvo Assembly for financial support. At the beginning of its existence, the gymnasium and Real School were located in a rented building, the address of which is not established. In 1911, they received their own building on Dvoryanskaya Street, designed in the popular brick style of the time. The building was adorned with artistic cast iron elements and the Tambov coat of arms on the facade. A house church with a large dome was arranged on the upper floor. After the construction was completed, Popov immediately began expanding the building.

By 1915, the institution had 8 gymnasium classes, 6 classes of the Real School, as well as preparatory and parallel classes. The curricula included Religious Instruction, Russian language, mathematics, German and French languages, Latin, physics, chemistry, natural history, geography, history, drawing, and gymnastics. Popov's reports on the state of the gymnasium show that religious and moral education and student performance were at a high level: in 1911 and 1915, 84% and 88% of students successfully passed their exams.

From the 1920s, the gymnasium building housed the Provincial Party Committee, then a general education institution, and a hospital during World War II. In 1960, a school with an in-depth study of the French language opened here, later becoming a linguistic gymnasium. Since 2002, it has been the MOE Gymnasium No. 7.

In 2007, the gymnasium was joined by the gymnasium named after Saint Pitirim, and the institution was renamed "Gymnasium No. 7 named after Saint Pitirim, Bishop of Tambov." The building of the Pitirima Gymnasium has been recognized as a monument of architecture and an object of cultural heritage of regional significance in Russia.