Church of the Ascension on Nikitskaya Street was built in the late 16th century. In this church he was crowned tsar Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich - the son of Ivan the Terrible.

In 1629, the church burned down, but was rebuilt in 1634 again. In 1680 the church was rebuilt: there Ustiug Chudotvortsev south aisle and the north chapel of St. Nicholas.

The lower part of the temple, rectangular in plan, stretched from north to south. It adjoins bunk refectory and belfry, at the base of the tent in which headdresses constructed dormer window - resonators.

In 1739 the church was restored after a fire in 1737. During the reconstruction of the north chapel was built in the name of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.

In the 60s of the 18th century, the temple was set on an octagonal drum with a baroque cupola.

In the 19th century Nikitsky Gate Church of the Assumption was built. Temple get more by volume, so Muscovites began to call him "the Great Ascension" and the Church of the Assumption in Nikitskaya Street - "Small Ascension".

In the early 19th century, the south aisle of the church was extended, constructed arched gallery in the northern chapel and warm porch. In 1831, it installed a new iconostasis. The remains of the mural painting of 18-19 centuries.

In the church there is an icon with the relics of the saints pious couple - Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia of Murom. In old age they took monastic vows and prayed to God to die one day and be buried together. And so it happened. Saints Peter and Fevronia honored as patrons of marriage and family.