According to the inscription at the west entrance, the church was built in 1010–1014. Its construction was completed in the reign of King Bagrat III Curopalates and it was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas — from which the church's name must derive. Until the 16th century Nikortsminda was a monastery. In 1534 Bagrat III, king of Imereti, renewed the church and founded an episcopal see there; from then on Nikortsminda is referred to as the episcopal cathedral of Racha. In the second half of the 19th century a three-story bell tower was raised in the churchyard.