The Savior Cathedral was built in 1537-1542 on the site of a burned wooden church. This five-domed cathedral on a basement is surrounded by galleries and has three semi-circular apses. The building's facades are divided into three parts by wide pilasters, which are topped with large zakomaras; the middle ones are larger than the side ones. The transition to the drums of the domes forms a second tier of zakomaras. The central dome, which stands out against the side ones, has four zakomaras at its base. The gradual increase in volumes towards the center creates a pyramidal composition. The architecture of the cathedral corresponds to the traditions of Moscow architecture of the first half of the 16th century. The main difference from other Moscow constructions of this period lies in the conciseness and restraint of the facade decoration, light doubled steps on the pilasters, a simple cornice with brackets, and window openings without trim. The upper parts of the dome drums are decorated with a more diverse decor, characteristic of northern Russian churches of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, as seen in the Kirillo-Belozersky and Ferapontov Monasteries, with rows of keel-shaped arches, rectangular niches, and a runner, complemented on the central drum by brick balusters and a ribbon of a cornice.

On three sides, except for the east, the cathedral is surrounded by a two-tiered gallery with open arches on the second tier, decorated with keel-shaped archivolts similar to the zakomaras. The gallery was likely added in 1654-1671 during large-scale stone works in the monastery. Three perspective portals with columns on the sides and a keel-shaped top lead to the gallery. On the north side, it ends with a two-story sacristy with an entrance from the altar, rebuilt in 1759. A large porch from the 17th century with stairs leads to the western portal, in the construction of which massive jug-shaped columns support double arches with a hanging weight. The original tented top of the porch was replaced with a gable roof in the 19th century.

The barrel vaults of stepped construction are supported by four massive pillars. The interior walls of the cathedral are whitewashed. It is assumed that in ancient times they were not painted, although there is an opposing opinion. The vaults and walls of the upper church were decorated with paintings in 1859, but they have been lost; the lower floor was not painted due to frequent renovations caused by dampness.

By the end of the 19th century, there were three altars on the upper floor of the cathedral, and five on the lower. Previously, the altars of the main church housed the altars of Dmitry of Prilutsk, John the Theologian, and the Transfiguration. In 1656, the altar of Dmitry of Prilutsk was moved to the lower floor, and his place was taken by the altar of John the Theologian. The Transfiguration altar was moved to the southern porch after the fire of 1811, replacing the altar in the name of the holy martyrs Platon and Roman.