The temple was built on a plot acquired with the participation of Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) in 1868. Even before the construction of the church, a hospice was built on the purchased land for Orthodox pilgrims who arrived in Palestine through the port of Jaffa, a well was dug, fruit trees (oranges, lemons, olives, pomegranates, figs) and ornamental trees (cypresses, eucalyptus, pines) were planted. As a rule, the route of such pilgrims was to Jerusalem through the villages of Ramle, Lod and Abu Gosh, accompanied by guards and representatives of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, and since 1882 the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.→