The temple is located in the center of Oryol on the right bank of the Orlik River, in the former Posadskaya sloboda. It is one of the finest examples of mature classicism in the Oryol region.

In 1678, the townspeople Ovchinnikov and Gribachev built a stone church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos with a bell tower. In 1730, merchant Kalashnikov erected a stone church of Saint Archangel Michael nearby for winter services.

By the end of the 18th century, both churches became cramped for the growing congregation and fell into disrepair, so they were dismantled, and construction of a larger church began. The new church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos with two chapels, of Saint Archangel Michael and Saint John the Warrior, was laid on September 19, 1801. In 1803, a refectory with two altars was built, and the work was completed in 1817.

After the construction was completed, Oryol received the most beautiful and spacious church, which remained so until the erection of the Protection and Smolensk churches. Although the Church of Archangel Michael was not a cathedral, it was used for solemn events. The only competitor was the Peter and Paul Cathedral, laid in 1797, but its construction and repairs were prolonged.

In September 1823, Emperor Alexander I visited Oryol, and a service was held here in his honor. In January 1826, the body of the deceased Sovereign was in the church when it was transported from Taganrog to St. Petersburg.

The most revered icon in the church was the Passion Icon of the Mother of God in a silver-gilded robe. In 1905, the wooden iconostasis was replaced with a marble one.

A church-parish school operated at the church, opened in 1890 by merchant I. I. Vlasov, and a charitable institution funded by merchant A. F. Kulabakhov. The life and work of L. N. Andreyev are connected with the church. Here, he was baptized by priest Andrey Kazansky, who became the prototype of Father Ignatius in Andreyev's story "Silence." The church is mentioned in his works such as "On the River," "The Guest," "Bargamot and Garaska," "Spring Promises," "When We Wake Up Dead," and "Youth." The church became a symbol of Oryol and homeland for Andreyev. The church was visited by N. S. Leskov, I. A. Bunin, and other writers who mentioned it in their works.

In the 1920s, the summer part of the church was turned into a museum of religious arts, which existed until the early 1940s, while the refectory was temporarily left for services.

In 1989, the church was handed over to the community of believers, and on January 6, 1990, it was consecrated again by Bishop Paisiy of Oryol and Bryansk. In 2004-2005, a large-scale restoration was carried out, and at the end of 2005, a new iconostasis was installed.