Tsar Ivan the terrible was in favor of the monastery. Here at the Trinity Cathedral he was baptized, often visited the Holy monastery and tried to bestow. In 1559 his order, he commanded here to lay the Cathedral of the Dormition. At that time the monastery has grown and needed a bigger Church. Construction lasted 26 years and ended a year after the death of the first Russian Tsar. The solemn consecration of the temple took place under his successor — Tsar Feodor Ioannovich.

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin became the model for the eponymous temple of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but inferior in size. Majestic and austere, monastic Cathedral was the largest building of the monastery. It is located in the centre of the monastery's land in the Eastern part of the Cathedral square. The temple stands on six pillars, bearing five chapters. Large dome quite closely pressed against each other. The Central dome is covered in gold and the rest in light blue with sparkling stars. Originally the chapters were helmet, and in the middle of the XVIII century steel domes, maintaining this form to our times.

Walls, arches and pillars of the Cathedral are decorated with frescoes on biblical themes Yaroslavl icon-painters together with the local craftsmen headed by Dmitry Grigoriev. Most of the murals, depicting the Dormition of the Theotokos. A magnificent five-tier carved iconostasis further emphasizes the solemnity of the temple. At the top of the back side of the iconostasis is created a three-tiered wooden gallery for the Church choir. The sound of pouring through the temple "like unto the heavens". Under the domes fixed two dropdown copper carved chandeliers, made by masters of the Armoury chamber in the seventeenth century.

The high altar of the Cathedral of the Dormition is placed in one of five apses of the temple. On the other side of the iconostasis built three limit. One in honor of St. Nicholas, who saved on giving the monks and the parishioners from the epidemic of scurvy during the siege by the poles in 1609. The other two are in honor of the Holy great Martyr Theodore Stratelates and Martyr Irene, whose names were given to the Emperor Theodore the Ioanovich and his wife Irina Fedorovna. The last two chapels arranged during the construction of the temple. Hoping to get the mercy of God, and to beget children, the couple tried to bestow the temple. The Grand cross in the altar of the Cathedral marks the spot where the young Peter I was looking for shelter during the Streltsy uprising of 1682. Tell that one angry Riflemen broke into the Church and brought over the sovereign knife, but was stopped by his friends. The fifth is the altar apse.

From the North-West side of the temple You'll find the tomb of the family of Godunov, which in 1780 was built tent tent. To our days the building was not preserved.

From the South-West side adjoins the Cathedral Nadkladeznaya chapel of the XVII century on the site of the opened Holy source. The rich decoration of four-storey chapel in the style of early Russian Baroque ("Naryshkin style") emphasized the white walls of the Dormition Cathedral.

Up to 1786 in the temple was a wooden coffin of St. Sergius of Radonezh, where he was buried, while the relics were moved in a silver coffin and moved to Trinity Cathedral of the monastery.

Initially, the assumption Cathedral was conceived the summer. It was of service only in the warmer months. Only since the 1980s, work began on warming of the temple. Powerful majestic temple can accommodate up to five thousand worshippers. Daily masses are held.