Nikozi was founded by Vakhtang Gorgasali (5th century) on the site of a pagan shrine, where Razhden, martyred by the Persians, was buried. Here too, according to the chronicler Juansher, he built a church, which has not survived. The church has been remodeled so many times that its construction layers are hard to establish. Repair works were also carried out in 1888–1896, undertaken among others by Giorgi Sadzaglishvili (the future Catholicos-Patriarch Kirion). At that time the portico before the church's west door was dismantled and the window surrounds renewed. The first bishop of Nikozi must have been Zakaria, whose commemorative Asomtavruli inscription is set in the church's east wall above the window.