The educational institution was opened in Chisinau in 1871 and was originally a four-class gymnasium. In 1884, it was transformed into the 2nd gymnasium in Chisinau. The National Archives of the Republic of Moldova keeps various documents on the construction of the building of the Chisinau 2nd male gymnasium in 1892–1893. Plans and projects for this construction of the building were drawn up by the diocesan architect Demosfen Mazirov. According to archival documents, in 1911 a special gym was added to the gymnasium’s building, with its main facade overlooking the central Aleksandrovskaya street (today Ștefan cel Mare si Sfant Boulevard). The Great Patriotic War finally completed the history of the building of the 2nd Male Gymnasium, which was badly damaged in July 1941. After the war, like many other buildings in Chisinau, the gymnasium’s building was demolished. In its place, a local branch of the KGB was built, which today is the building of the Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova. As for the construction of a church, having the right of chapel at the educational institution, thanks to the honorary trustee of the gymnasium Constantin Namestnic, according to the project of the diocesan architect Mikhail Serotsinsky, a temple was built in the Byzantine-Russian style, and on May 19, 1902 it was consecrated. At the request of the philanthropist C. Namestnic, the name of the holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles kings Constantine and Helena was given, and his family crypt was arranged under the floor of the building. The author of the iconostasis was Master S. Kirillov. The Ukrainian artist Mishchenko depicted all the ordered images, which were exact copies from the icons of the Kiev Cathedral of St. Vladimir. The bells for the gymnasium church were made at the Olovyanishnikov’s factory in Yaroslavl. In April 1962, a planetarium was opened in the church building as a center for promoting knowledge in astronomy, astronautics and earth sciences, which continued to work until 1990, when a fire occurred that caused its closure. The building was later returned to the Orthodox Church and was subsequently renovated. Today it is the Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Biserica Schimbarea la Față a Mântuitorului), which is an architectural monument of national importance and included in the register of historical and cultural monuments of the municipality of Chisinau, representing a part of the rich cultural heritage of the Republic of Moldova.