For a long time, house (or, as they are also called, tower) churches have been built at the personal mansions of Moscow rulers. At first, they were wooden, but then they were replaced with stone ones. The complex of such churches can still be seen in the Moscow Kremlin, which is commonly called the Verkhospassky Cathedral.

One of the earliest tower churches, Catherine's Church, was built in 1627 by English architect John Thaler. A few years later, another church, Evdokia, was built over this church, and in subsequent years new small palace churches continued to be built, creating a single architectural ensemble of Verkhospassky cathedral. In 1680, the church complex was completed and architect O. Startsev built 11 famous gilded domes above it.