There is an opinion that in ancient times a monastery existed at the site of the Kineshma burial ground, where the venerable Michael the Verizhnik lived, who died in 1422. This assumption is based on the fact that a church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker stood at his burial site, and the nearby lake and meadow are called monastic. However, there is no documentary evidence for this, and such grounds seem questionable: there are many churches of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Vladimir province, and it is impractical to associate the venerable Michael specifically with this church. The lake and meadow could have received their names from the Serapion Desert located nearby. If there had indeed been a monastery at the burial ground, more significant legends would have survived, but, as will be shown later, there is a completely different legend about its foundation. The mention in the 'Book of Russian Saints' about the location of the monastery where Michael labored contains an error: the Mstera volost is referred to as the Tsar's, although since the early 17th century it had been the estate of the Romanov princes. More accurate information about the location of the monastery is found in descriptive books from 1687 and 1691, which indicate that it was located in the palace's Vsyegoditskaya volost. Researchers believe that the site of this monastery is now the burial ground of Mikhailov Desert in Kovrov district on the Klyazma River.

The first documentary mentions of the church at Kineshma burial ground are found in the patriarchal tax books. In them, under the year 1628, it is recorded: 'the church of the great Wonderworker Nicholas of Kineshma in the estate of the boyar Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, Princess Irina in the Yaroslavl volost beyond the river Klyazma on the meadow side at the burial ground'; the church paid 24 altyn 2 denga to the patriarchal treasury.

In 1807, the construction of a stone temple began at Kineshma burial ground; the refectory was consecrated in 1809, and the main temple only in 1821. This temple has survived to this day without significant changes. The bell tower was rebuilt in 1849.

The church is well supplied with utensils, vestments, holy icons, and liturgical books. Many icons have been preserved, transferred from the previous wooden churches. The icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Mozhaisk in the life is especially revered by the parishioners; according to local tradition, it appeared on a tree, and a temple was founded at that place. The church archive contains the church foundation charter from 1761 and the church consecration charter from 1769.