The most notable historic churches of Arzamas are strung along a great arc that began at the Alekseyevsky Monastery on the bank of the Tyosha River; the center of the arc is occupied by the imposing mass of the Resurrection Cathedral and the churches and monasteries adjoining it, while the chain continues with the buildings of the Spassky Monastery, the multi-tiered Ilyinskaya Church, and other churches in the upper part of the city.

The most significant buildings are listed below.

Resurrection Cathedral (1814–1842)

The Patriotic War of 1812 stirred a great surge of national energy and feeling, and it was only natural to seek a monumental expression of its memory. In the conditions of the time, the only form such a monument could take was a large cathedral. The construction was funded by voluntary contributions donated, as far as each person was able, by all the city's residents. Building began in Arzamas in 1814 to a design by architect M. P. Korinfsky (1788–1851), a native of the city and an outstanding master of late Classicism, a pupil of the celebrated Voronikhin.

The majestic five-domed cathedral, built atop a riverside hill, holds a dominant position in the appearance and skyline of the entire city. The cathedral's central composition, the calm contours of its crowning domes, and the circular forms of its eight-column Ionic porticoes — which nearly completely screen the walls of all four façades — are fully equal to the building's important role in the urban landscape. The shell was completed by 1840, but the cathedral was not fully finished until two years later. The unified impression of the building is enhanced by the consistent style of the interiors, with paintings by pupils of the Arzamas Stupin School — O. S. and A. O. Serebryakov — and a richly carved iconostasis by the brothers V. and K. Lomakin.

Winter Cathedral of the Life-Giving Spring (1794)

An earlier structure (1794), its architecture accordingly bears the transitional character of the move toward Classicism, while the bell tower retains a Baroque silhouette.

Both cathedrals are currently active and in good condition.

Ilyinskaya Church (1746)

The Ilyinskaya Church was one of the most beautiful churches in Arzamas; it has since been transferred to the Arzamas Museum of History and Art. Unfortunately, its domed crowning has been lost, but the full beauty of its stone decorative work can still be appreciated. The former church building has come down to us with its lower tier, refectory, and altar. The upper tiers and the bell tower no longer exist. The church was built in 1746, at a time when European Baroque forms dominated the architecture of the capital — forms whose influence is visible in the decorative treatment of the figured stone cornice.

Alekseyevsky Novodevichiy Monastery (Alekseyevskaya Community)

The Alekseyevsky Novodevichiy Monastery (Alekseyevskaya Community) is located in the northwestern part of the city. The history of this monastery is a fascinating one. According to available records, in 1643 a decree of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich charged the voivode Prince Shakhovskoy with building in Arzamas, in the posad (settlement outside the kremlin), the royal place of worship — the Novodevichiy Monastery of Aleksiy, Man of God — in honor of the birth of the tsar's son Aleksey.

Construction of the monastery continued from 1745 to 1826. By the time it was completed, it had come to be known as the Alekseyevskaya Community. The Alekseyevsky Novodevichiy Monastery in Arzamas was fully restored to the status of a first-class monastery only in 1908.

To the left, beyond the monastery wall, stand the hospital and the Varvarskaya Church; beyond them is the Gate Bell Tower, and the Uspenskaya and Voznesenskaya churches. Above the enclosure wall rise the monks' cells and monastery premises. After 1917 the 51st Rifle Regiment was quartered on the monastery grounds. The monastery buildings, with the exception of the bell tower, have partially survived, though with significant losses.