One of the most interesting and rare buildings in the territory of the Trinity Sergius Lavra is a church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. It was built in 1476 the best masters of Pskov, which invited Vasily III to restore the collapsed of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Architects have refused to rebuild the temple, and were sent to the Holy Trinity Monastery.

Initially, the Holy Trinity Church calls Dukhovskaya, because it was built on the site of the former wooden cathedral in the name of the Holy Trinity. Later renamed the temple, and in the inventory of the monastery in 1641, she was named its current name.

Church - a small, but quite high, like a watchtower. She really was used as a tower to watch the surroundings. The fortress walls of the monastery served as a nice Moscow, protecting it from the north from enemy raids. "Vspoloshnoy" Dukhovskoy church bell warned the monks about the danger at the time of the Polish-Lithuanian siege in 1608.

Incidentally, the bell-tower of the church - an extremely rare architectural structure of the XV century in central Russia. Six of its large stocky pillars stand right over Chetverikov the church and keep the drum, the completed head of a large bulbous blue with a golden girdle. Such churches are called "the ringing of the temple." By the church bells Dukhovskoy leads only addl wooden staircase. But the bell-ringer of antiquity there was no need to go upstairs. Standing on the ground, they rocked the poles with ropes, which were fastened bells. Thus, the bell swinging strikes about motionless languages ​​and published its own unique ringing.

Externally, the church is very similar to the nearby Trinity Cathedral, but richer in its external decoration and more elegant. The facade is decorated with its pilasters and half-columns, dividing wall into three parts. The perimeter of the upper part encircles the terracotta relief. Keeled zakomary kokoshniki and repeat the architecture of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. In the temple, there is overhead lighting, facades and windows are too small, so for a long time the church remained without painting. The first mural appeared here only in 1665 at the behest of the Patriarch Nikon. Three-tiered iconostasis is made of rosewood Lavra masters in the middle of the XIX century.

For a long time hipped roof hiding the belfry, but thanks to modern restoration work, we can see again so rare architectural structure in its original form.

Until the mid XX century the church was surrounded by outbuildings. On the south side there was a chapel in the name of Philaret the Merciful, and from the north - a stone chapel, which was built over the grave of Maximus the Greek philosopher and writer. These extensions connected the porch from the western facade of the church Dukhovskoy. During the restoration of the chapel in 1938 and the chapel was dismantled and brought along with the foundation of the walls and restored the basement.

Here, as in the past, practiced parishioners lead services. In this small church of the monastery he confessed after the death of Ivan the Terrible's son Tsarevich Ivan in 1583.