The Raifa Monastery was founded in the 17th century by the hermit Philaret, who settled 27 km northwest of Kazan. After the death of his parents, he distributed his possessions to the poor and became a monk at the Chudov Monastery in Moscow. Living near Patriarch Hermogenes until his death, Philaret was ordained as a hieromonk. Seeking solitude, he left Moscow and traveled to the lower provinces along the Volga, arriving in Kazan in 1613. At first, he lived in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery of the Kazan Kremlin, and then settled on the shores of Lake Raifa, building a cell. At that time, the local Mari people considered these forests sacred and conducted pagan rituals there.

The combination of Orthodoxy and paganism led the Mari to spread rumors about a holy man by the lake. Soon, this place became popular among Kazan admirers of Philaret, and some of them joined him, forming a monastic hermitage. At Philaret's direction, a chapel was built, according to legend, after a vision experienced by one of the monks.

Philaret passed away in 1659, and in 1661, Metropolitan Lavrenty blessed the foundation of the monastery, which was named in honor of the Raifa Monastery on the Red Sea. In 1668, a copy of the Georgian icon of the Mother of God was brought to the monastery, becoming the main shrine of the community.

In 1918, the monastery was closed, but the churches were still used for services. In 1930, the last hieromonks were arrested and shot, later glorified as the Venerable Martyrs of Raifa. Since the 1930s, a prison was located on the monastery grounds, later becoming a colony for juvenile offenders.

In 1991, the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Archimandrite Vsevolod, the first abbot of the revived community, noted that the restoration was a miracle. In June of the same year, the icon of the Mother of God "Georgian" was returned, and the first service was held. In the 1990s, the ensemble of the monastery was restored, and monastic life resumed. Today, there are about 30 members in the brotherhood.

The monastery vocal quartet "Parable," created in 1993, gained wide recognition. Since 1994, a shelter for boys has been operating at the monastery. In 1997, Patriarch Alexy II visited the monastery, consecrating the spring and chapel. Since 2001, the newspaper "Raifa Herald" has been published, and since 2011, the collection "Raifa Almanac." In 2005, the Bank of Russia issued a coin featuring the monastery. Since 2008, the "Pilgrim's House" hotel has been in operation. In 2016, Patriarch Kirill visited the community. In 2018, hieromonk Gavriil Rozhnov became the abbot, and in 2019, a blessing was received for the construction of the Nikolsky hermitage, and a Museum of the History of the Monastery was established.

The restored architectural ensemble of the monastery is a significant monument of ancient Russian culture in the Middle Volga region, surrounded by the picturesque Raifa Lake and pine forest, declared a nature reserve in 1960.