The church was built in late XVII-early XVIII century with the funds of Grigory Stroganov, an associate of Peter I, who financed, in particular, the campaigns of Russian troops during the Northern War. According to the legend, when this church was completed, Grigory Stroganov ordered to blind the master who created it. He wanted to ensure that no another church equal to this beauty could not appear in Russia in the near future. However, another legend says that the master turned out to be smart enough, that he managed to break away from the Stroganov`s servants, climbed onto the dome of the church, turned into a black crow and flew away. However, by telling these legends, let us remember that the church was completed in 1719 by the widow of Stroganov, and by that time the man had died.
It is well known that in 1722 Peter I paid a visit to this church and immediately ordered to close it. The historians still argue about the reason for the Emperor's anger. According to one of the versions, his royalty recognized the icons he had earlier ordered for the Peter and Paul Fortress Church in St.Petersburg to the artist Caravaque, and Stroganov must have bought them in secret from the Emperor. Another story says that Caravaque had nothing to do with those images. They were allegedly painted in the European fashion by Stroganov`s serf artist who was trained in Europe as per his master`s will. As they say, Grigory Stroganov himself could have been a model for the face of Christ, so tsar Peter came to frenzy by recognizing familiar features in the Savior`s face. Be that as it may, the church remained closed for three years, until the monarch's death.
The tower clock, originally mounted in the church itself, somewhat differed from the modern type: the clock-face was divided into 17 sections, as per the olden Russian calculation of time. The clock used to please the townspeople with its chime until it broke. Only one person in town was able to repair this clock, a young self-taught watchmaker Ivan Kulibin. The ancient clock did not survive to the present day. There is another clock installed, the current clock was made in the century before last, it formerly decorated the facade of the Blinov`s Arcade Building.
During the Soviet time all the other churches in Rozhdestvenskaya area were demolished, and a similar fate awaited the Stroganov`s Church. However, its priest Sergei Veisov had been able to provide documentary evidence that the building was of exceptional historical and architectural value. So this rare monument of the Petrine era was spared. For many years, there was a military drug store, and then a local museum.
