The residential buildings of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Moscow Synodal Office are located on a large plot at the intersection of Vozdvizhenka Street and Yanishev Lane. Since the mid-15th century, the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross was situated here, facing the street known as Arbat, later Smolenskaya. The name Vozdvizhenka appeared only in the second quarter of the 18th century.

The first mention of the wooden monastery church is associated with the fire of 1547. After that, a stone church was built, which had fallen into disrepair by the early 18th century. In 1709, the construction of a new stone cathedral began, which was completed in the mid-1720s due to a ban on stone buildings in Moscow. In 1711, the lower church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was consecrated, and later, the main upper church of the Exaltation of the Holy Life-Giving Cross. The church became one of the last constructions of Moscow Baroque and the only centralized church with a petal plan in the city center.

The first information about the layout of the monastery dates back to the mid-18th century. On the map of Moscow from 1767, the church is shown in the center of the monastery courtyard, surrounded by stone buildings. In 1806, the monastery's construction, likely preserved since the mid-18th century, was detailed on the plan. The monastery suffered in the fire of 1812, but the stone cathedral and most of the buildings survived.

In 1813, the monastery was abolished, and families of clergymen from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin were placed there. Architect I.N. Lizogub conducted construction work, preserving only the church, the forge, and the cellars. In 1816-1818, two two-story buildings for the clergy of the Assumption Cathedral were built, along with other utility buildings.

In 1849, a bell tower was built according to the design of architect P. Burenin. Between 1894 and 1900, the western building was expanded to three stories. In the early 20th century, the three-story corner building was used for the apartments of clergymen, while the two-story house on Vozdvizhenka was for the prosecutor of the Holy Synod.

In 1934, the church was demolished, and a Metro construction shaft was built in its place. In the 1980s, an extension was dismantled to widen the passage. In 1990, reconstruction of Building 1 began. Currently, Building 2 is undergoing reconstruction, while Building 6 is in an emergency state.

Building 1 is a three-story stone building at the corner of the block. It was built in 1816-1818 according to the project of I.N. Lizogub. The facades of the building are executed in the Empire style with characteristic decorative elements. In the 1990s, restoration of the facades and interiors was carried out.

Building 2 was recreated in the 1990s. It is a three-story stone building with a basement, located along the northern boundary of the plot. The restoration involves preserving the traditional construction and restoring the fence and gates according to archival drawings.