The cloister was first mentioned in the city records in 1623, although it is believed that it had existed for more than a century prior to that. Its name (from the Russian verb "to interrupt") is explained by the fact that the Moskva River has repeatedly changed its flow at this place. The abbey began to expand in the mid-17th century and grew especially large at the turn of the century, when Patriarch Adrian made the cloister his summer residence and built the so-called Old Cathedral (1696–1700). In 1775, they opened a theological seminary on the premises of the monastery. Its main sources of income were Sukharev Tower, Iverskaya Chapel and other sketes, attached to it by the ecclesiastic authorities.