The Ascension Pechersky Monastery began with several caves dug into the steep bank of the Volga. By the end of the 16th century, it had transformed into a magnificently decorated white-stone abode. However, natural disasters destroyed everything that had been created over the centuries, and the monastery had to be rebuilt from scratch. To understand this, we must go back several centuries.

In the late 1320s, a monk named Dionysius appeared in the vicinity of Nizhny Novgorod, arriving from the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery. He settled in a cave he had dug on the steep bank of the Volga, likely between 1228 and 1330. The Steppe Book mentions: “Three leagues from the city, by the bank of the Volga, Dionysius in Nizhny Novgorod dug a cave, where he diligently labored, and established an honorable monastery, called the Pechersky Monastery.”

Dionysius continued the tradition of the founders of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery. His abode also originated from a cave, hence it was named “Pechersky.” Soon, other monks began to join him. At first, they dug cells near Dionysius's cave, but soon the cave dwelling had to be abandoned due to cramped conditions and dampness. On the slope, they began to build a wooden monastery with a church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord. Dionysius became the abbot and later the archimandrite.

From its foundation, likely from the time of the construction of wooden buildings, the monastery lived according to a communal rule. All property was communal, monks had no personal possessions, and they did not leave the monastery without the abbot's blessing. They fed themselves through their own labor. The communal rule contributed to the monastery's prosperity, and by the end of the 14th century, it had become an important spiritual and cultural center of the region. Here, with the blessing of Saint Dionysius, whose residence since 1374 was in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, the Laurentian Chronicle was created.

The decline of the monastery began in the 1770s. Classified as first class and receiving a salary of just over two thousand rubles, the monastery found itself in a dire situation. Previously, it freely managed the income from its estates, could maintain its buildings, and help those in need, but now it was on the brink of survival. Churches and buildings fell into disrepair, and the brotherhood diminished.

The situation changed in the mid-19th century when ruling archbishops became the superiors of the monastery. This led to the repair of stone buildings, an increase in the number of monks, and a revival of charitable activities. By 1917, the Pechersky Monastery had regained its former beauty.

Soviet power quickly destroyed the ancient abode, annihilating everything that had been created over the centuries. In 1925, the architectural complex of the monastery came under the jurisdiction of the Gubmuseum, but this did not save the buildings from being occupied by outsiders or the sacristy from being looted.

A carpentry workshop was set up in the main Ascension Cathedral, and a vegetable storage in its basement. A cinema was arranged in the archimandrite's chambers, the building of the Assumption Church was repurposed as an archive, and the other buildings were converted into housing.

For many years, almost until the return of the monastery's buildings to the Russian Orthodox Church, a poster with the slogan “Long live communism, the bright future of all humanity” hung on the inner wall. In 1960, the monastery was designated as an architectural monument of republican significance, but restoration only began in 1971. More than twenty years passed before the monastery was handed over to the Church.

In 1994, a new chapter began in the history of the abode. The first church consecrated in the Pechersky Monastery was the gate church of Euphemia, and in 1999, the hospital church in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul was consecrated. In 2000, the first Divine Liturgy was held in the Ascension Cathedral. Gradually, the buildings and walls of the monastery were restored.

The Ascension Pechersky Monastery has been a significant spiritual center of Nizhny Novgorod for 25 years and is one of the most beautiful in the diocese. Its favorable location and architectural style make it unique.