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The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Dukhovsky) was commissioned by Ivan III in 1476. This [[church]], built by artisans from [[Pskov]], is one of the remaining examples in Russia of a church with a belltower on top of it. The Church of St. Nikon, commissioned by Basil III, was completed in 1548, a year after Nikon was canonized. At the western wall of the Nikon church a chapel called Serapion's Tent was built over the tomb of St. [[Serapion of Novgorod|Serapion]], the [[archbishop]] of [[Novgorod]].
As the sixteenth century progressed a major cathedral, modeled after the [[Dormition Cathedral (Moscow Kremlin)|Dormition Cathedral]] in the Moscow Kremlin, was commissioned in 1559 by [[Ivan IV of Russia|Ivan IV]], commonly labeled “the Terrible." Construction of the Uspensky (Dormition) Cathedral took twenty-six years. It was built to commemorate the conquests of Kazan and Astrakhan. The interior, including the [[iconostasis]], was the work of a number of artists: notably Simon Ushakov whose masterpiece [[icon]] of the [[Last Supper icon|Last Supper]] adorns the [[iconostatsis]] iconostasis and the violet and blue frescos of the interior walls done by Yaroslav masters in 1684.
The wooden walls around the monastery were replaced during the middle of the sixteenth century by thick stone walls. The walls that stretched for 1.5 kilometers were dotted by twelve towers. The strong walls were instrumental in the defense of the monastery during the siege by Polish forces from 1608 to 1610. Again in 1618, Wladyslaw IV besieged Holy Trinity unsuccessfully. Throughout the remainder of the century construction of more structures took placed. These included a royal palace ordered by Peter I for his father, Tsar Alexei, that now houses the Theological Academy. In 1686, a refectory/church dedicated to St. Sergius was added that for a while was the largest hall in Russia. The Church of John the Baptist's Nativity was added in the last decade of the seventeenth century. This church was commissioned by the Stroganov family and was built over one of the gates to the monastery. Also the century witnessed the building of monks' cells, a hospital in 1635, and a chapel over the St. Sergius Well that was discovered in 1644 and from which the faithful draw holy water.
