Sofia Andreevna Kudryashova recounted that the stone church in the village of Nershevo was built around 1860 and had two altars. The main altar was dedicated to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, as confirmed by church metric books from the Vachsky district registry office. The church was constructed with funds from Sofia Andreevna's grandfather, Fedot Andreevich Shmelev, a merchant of the 2nd guild from Nizhny Novgorod, and the parishioners. The temple was erected on raised ground, which was carried in stretchers, and foreign specialists participated in the construction. The church housed numerous icons and church books, and it was surrounded by a stone fence. The church bell weighed 160 poods and was initially delivered by river to Varezh, and then by troikas to Nershevo.

The Nershevo parish included the villages of Mochalovo, Valtyrevo, Goryshovo, and the village of Nershevo itself. A parish school also operated in the village, where Honorary Citizen Fyodor Ivanovich Aratsky taught. In 1896, there were 20 students in the school.

From the church metric books, it is known that from 1896 to 1900, the church was served by priests Mikhail Studelitsky and Vasily Jordansky, as well as psalmists Mikhail Fedorovsky, Ivan Krylov, and Pavel Shevlyaninov. From 1901 to 1908, the priests were Vasily Jordansky and Andrey Gorsky, and the psalmists were Alexander Bystrov, Ivan Sokolov, and Mikhail Dobrolyubov. From 1909 to 1917, the priest was Alexander Lubyantsev, and the psalmist was I.P. Arkhangelsky. From 1918 to 1922, the priest was Nikolai Salagansky.

During the Soviet era, the destruction of the church began. The church fence was dismantled, and a building for an artel was constructed from the bricks, where chisels were made. The church premises were turned into a collective farm warehouse. Currently, the former church dedicated to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God is in a state of ruin.