In 1626, a wooden cathedral known as the Archangel Cathedral was built in the Kremlin. Later, in the 1670s and 1680s, the first stone Assumption Cathedral was erected in its place, with chapels dedicated to Archangel Gabriel and Tikhon of Amathus. However, less than a century later, it fell into disrepair and was dismantled. The construction of a new cathedral began on May 7, 1762, with the blessing of Bishop Porphyrius of Kolomna and Kashira, financed by Tula merchants from "liquor taxes." About 30,000 rubles were spent on the construction and decoration of the cathedral. The main builders were merchant Lukyan Kopteltsev, Sofron Sidnev, and Andrey Volodimirov. The building was completed on May 8, 1764, but by that time, Lukyan Kopteltsev had already passed away, and his place was taken by burgomaster Timofey Chechulin. The cathedral was consecrated in 1766, and a year later, the chapel of John Chrysostom was consecrated, which was later abolished due to crowding, replaced by the cathedral's sacristy. The Assumption Cathedral was a cold, unheated church where services were held only from Easter to the Feast of the Protection. On February 16, 1930, the presidium of the Moscow Regional Executive Committee closed the cathedral, planning to house an atheistic museum in its premises, which was never created. In 1934, some icons and vestments from the cathedral were transferred to the Nikolochasovenskaya Church. In 1945, the Assumption Cathedral was recognized as a monument of federal significance, and in 1960, its building was placed under state protection. In 1961, the cathedral housed a warehouse for industrial goods. Restoration began in May 1965 after the start of a comprehensive scientific restoration of the Kremlin. In 1968 and 1970, decisions were made to gild the five domes of the church, replace the roof, and repair the plinth. In July 1975, work began on the restoration of the iconostasis and altars. The condition of the iconostasis was generally satisfactory, but about 30% of the carved decor was lost. In 1982 and 1986, the carving of the iconostasis made of linden was restored. The wall painting on the western wall was damaged by a fire in the 1950s, and in the 1960s, the composition of the Assumption of the Virgin was lost due to fireworks. By the mid-1980s, the wall painting was in an emergency state. In 1988, Moscow artists under the guidance of V. L. Lagutin began the restoration of the wall painting.

In September 1991, the executive committee of the Tula Regional Council of People's Deputies transferred the Assumption Cathedral for gratuitous use to the Tula Diocesan Administration for joint use with a branch of the regional local history museum. In the 1990s, restoration of the iconostasis was not carried out due to lack of funding, and since 1996, funding for the restoration of the wall painting ceased. In 2001, work was resumed by specialists from "Centerrestavratsiya" from Moscow. In 2000 and 2001, restorer A. Pyatin restored part of the carved frames of the icons in the iconostasis. On September 8, 2005, the lighting of the cathedral was turned on for the first time. In 2013, as part of the restoration of the Tula Kremlin, the cathedral was also renovated: the domes were gilded, and the walls were painted gray. In the spring of 2020, restoration of the interior decoration of the church and 18th-century frescoes began, which started to deteriorate in 2006 due to severe frosts and temperature fluctuations. The restoration of the iconostasis, about 14 meters high and 22 meters wide, is also underway, along with other necessary works, which are planned to be completed by October 2021.