The Trinity Cathedral of the Danilov Monastery, built between 1530 and 1532, holds a special place among the monuments of ancient Russian architecture in Pereslavl-Zalessky. Its simple and majestic forms correspond to the traditions of Middle Russian architecture of the first third of the 16th century. The frescoes created between 1662 and 1668 became the first independent work of the famous Kostroma icon painter Guriy Nikitin and his workshop. These frescoes, which include a cycle of illustrations of the Apocalypse, combine the experience of monumental painting from the previous century with new techniques of the Kostroma school of the second half of the 17th century.

With funds from Grand Duke Vasily, the first stone church, the Trinity Cathedral with a chapel of John the Baptist, the patron saint of newborns, was erected in the Danilov Monastery. The monastery was renamed Trinity in honor of the main church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

The Trinity Cathedral is one of the oldest architectural monuments of Pereslavl-Zalessky. It was built during a period when the city once again became a center of construction activity for Moscow sovereigns. At the beginning of the 16th century, there was likely only one stone church in the city, the 12th-century Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral. However, in the 1520s and 1530s, with the funds of Vasily III, stone churches began to be built in three suburban monasteries: Nikitsky, Goritsky, and Danilov. Of these constructions, only the Trinity Cathedral of the Danilov Monastery has survived to this day without significant changes.

The architectural features of the cathedral bring it closer to the buildings of Moscow architects from the first third of the 16th century. It is possible that masters from the capital, sent by Vasily III to Pereslavl, constructed it.

The Trinity Cathedral is a small single-domed cross-in-square church with elegant proportions. It rises on the top of a gentle hill and, in ancient times, when there were no large structures nearby, served as the architectural dominant of the southern outskirts of Pereslavl.

The exterior of the cathedral is simple and monumental. The main volume of the church is almost cubic in shape. Each facade is divided into three parts by narrow pilasters and adorned with profiled portals. The brickwork is pierced with narrow arched window openings, reminiscent of loopholes. A light cornice separates the kilned arches from the walls. To the east, three low apses of polygonal shape, characteristic of the first third of the 16th century, protrude. The vertical edges give the apses elegance, preventing them from appearing heavy. The dome of the cathedral rises on a light drum with an arcature-columned belt, the decor of which was used by Italian architects in the Kremlin cathedrals and became popular in ancient Russian architecture. After the completion of construction, the Trinity Cathedral appeared more slender and solemn than it does now. Its ancient arches and kokoshniks are hidden under a roof that appeared in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. At that time, the helmet-shaped dome was replaced with an onion-shaped one, new windows were cut, and old ones were bricked up. The recurring forms created an impression of the church reaching upward. This was aided by the high and narrow windows. Inside, the church seems spacious due to its elongated plan and enlarged narthex. The space of the cathedral is divided by slender columns supporting the vaults and arches. The cornices of the columns and brackets are finely profiled, their profile almost coinciding with the outer walls. The columns form a square under the dome. The apses are lower than the eastern wall, allowing for compositions that usually occupy different places in the paintings. The northern, western, and southern walls are divided into three parts by pilasters corresponding to the outer pilasters.

The monastery's flourishing began in the 1650s and continued until the beginning of the next century. The Trinity Danilov Monastery regained its former glory and became one of the richest in the region. It was completely rebuilt in stone, including new residential and economic buildings, walls, and gates. The largest contributors were the princes of Baryatinsky, who facilitated large-scale construction. The flourishing of the monastery is associated with the activities of the Rostov Metropolitan Ion Sysoevich. In 1653, he witnessed the relics of the first abbot Daniel. In the same year, Abbot Tikhon achieved recognition of the relics as 'true,' after which Daniel was canonized. Patriarch Nikon established celebrations for the venerable Daniel on December 30 and April 7. In 1653, the monastery was granted a charter for the construction of a church in the name of Daniel. In 1660, a new church was added to the northern side of the Trinity Cathedral. It has survived and is a small single-domed church. In 1923, the monastery was closed, the churches were desecrated, and the walls and towers were dismantled. Daniel's well was filled in, and the cathedral's frescoes were left unprotected. In the 1930s, the monastery was used as a machine and tractor station. From 1945 to 1949, it housed a camp for German prisoners of war. On April 20, 1994, the relics of Daniel were transferred from the museum to the Holy Nicholas Women's Monastery, and two years later, to the Holy Trinity Danilov Monastery. After that, the monastery began to be restored, and pilgrims flocked to the relics. However, it took years for the restoration work to gain specific timelines.

In 2000, the bells rang again on the monastery's bell tower. In 2002, a dome and cross were installed, and restoration work began in the Church of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos. On September 18, 2005, the Danilov chapel of the Trinity Cathedral was consecrated by Archbishop Kirill of Yaroslavl and Rostov.