The Ascension Monastery was founded in 1690 by Bishop Pitirim of Tambov and Kozlov on the northern outskirts of the city, at the confluence of the Studenets and Gavryushka rivers. The first abbess was his sister Catherine.

In 1724, the monastery suffered from a fire and was restored only by 1744, when the monastery wall was erected. During the secularization reform of 1764, the monastery was planned to be closed, but this did not happen due to its workshops and self-sufficient economy. The Ascension Monastery received the status of a regular third-class monastery with funding of 375 rubles.

In 1791 and 1798, a stone church of the Ascension of the Lord was built in the monastery, with chapels dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Saint Great Martyr Catherine. In 1816 and 1820, a church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” appeared.

In 1891, a building for elderly nuns with a chapel in the name of Anthony of Pechersk was constructed along Moskovskaya Street.

The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century became a time of flourishing for the Ascension Monastery. A two-story stone building, a guesthouse, a bathhouse, a laundry, and a warm water distribution booth were erected. In 1912, a two-story refectory was built according to the design of V. I. Freidman. The monastery engaged in weaving, making archbishop mitres, embroidering icons, and also took care of the garden and apiary. A five-day Ascension fair was held at the walls of the monastery during the church holiday.

The destruction of the monastery began in December 1918. In 1925, the Ascension Church was closed, valuables were plundered, and in 1927, the church was handed over to the city council for cultural and educational purposes, with the bells removed from the bell tower.

The Sorrowful Church was transferred to the management of the regional archive in 1929 and was placed under state protection. From the early 1930s, the Ascension Church was no longer mentioned in documents.

On December 5, 1979, by the decision of the Oblispolkom, the monastery was placed under protection as a monument of local significance.

In 1988, in connection with the millennium of the Baptism of Rus, the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Eugene Zhdan of Tambov and Michurinsk appointed Priest Nikolai Toroptev to the Sorrowful Church.

On December 22, 1992, the revival of the monastic community began.