The history of the cathedral began in 1397, when Grand Duke Vasily I ordered the construction of a small stone church near his palace for himself and his family. Professional architects from Pskov were invited for its construction, and Andrei Rublev, Feofan Grek and other outstanding masters of Russia participated in the painting of the church. After a while, the temple was rebuilt and made larger, and a hundred years later it was slightly changed again when it suffered from a fire.

Around that time, its famous nine golden columns with domes appeared, and in the panorama of the Kremlin, the temple began to play an important decorative role, not to mention its architectural and historical value.