There are several versions of the founding of the monastery, but two of them are the most interesting. One says that the shrine was erected in 1631 in memory of the death of nun Martha. Supporters of another theory claim that the monastery was founded in 1629 in honor of the birth of the heir to the throne, when the family icon of the family was brought to the monastery. By the way, some sources claim that it was one of the first icons depicting the Mother of God.

The church was built in accordance with old Russian traditions and had two tiers: the upper cold one was consecrated in honor of the icon “The Sign”, the lower one was named after St. Athanasius Athonsky. It should be noted that in the 18th century, the cathedral experienced its heyday — it was again painted by Russian craftsmen, its walls were decorated with stucco molding, and a bell tower was added, which became the main entrance to the cathedral.

The church has gone through difficult times more than once — at first it fell out of favor with Peter the Great, who almost stopped financing the God-pleasing institution, and during the war with France, Napoleonic soldiers looted holy place and burned images of saints that were not taken out by monks during the Patriotic War. The monastery was restored only by 1827. A little less than 100 years later, when the Bolsheviks came to power, the monastery was closed again, the main icon was removed from view (it was taken to Irkutsk), and the premises were given for housing. Outbuildings and even stables were erected on the territory of the monastery, which by the 1960s were destroyed.

It was only in 1992 that services were resumed in the newly restored monastery. Currently, on its territory there is a cathedral, a bell tower, cells (preserved since the XVIII century), a fraternal corps, chambers of the Romanov boyars and the monastery building.