The church in honor of St. Nicholas, known as Gorno-Nikolsky, was built in 1751 with funds from Bryansk merchants Koltsov. It replaced an old wooden church that had existed since the 14th century and had been rebuilt multiple times.

This church is one of the finest monuments of Bryansk, executed in the baroque style with a later classical bell tower. The building is made of brick and plastered. The architectural composition is designed in the form of a "ship": the tiered bell tower is connected to a low and short refectory and the church's square base. The two-light square base supports a large octagonal structure, topped with a slender light octagon with a small dome. The refectory continues with an altar chapel featuring three rounded apses, which harkens back to 17th-century traditions. The facade decoration is close to "Naryshkin" baroque. The window frames are designed as rectangular frames or with half-columns and pilasters on the sides and a broken pediment; above the semicircular archivolts of the side portals are small niches for icons. The corner pilasters are elongated, and the entablatures are adorned with metope-triglyph friezes. The lower square of the bell tower has rustication at the corners and pediments, while the upper square is decorated with pilasters with panels and balustrades under the arched openings. The interior features a high space with an octagon on three-tiered squinches, topped with an octagonal vault. The refectory and altar are covered with barrel vaults with conchs above the apses.

Initially, the church had three altars: the central altar was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas, the right in honor of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, and the left in honor of the Unmercenaries and Miracle Workers Cosmas and Damian. In the first half of the 19th century, a new bell tower was built to replace the old one.

After the October Revolution, the church was closed. In 1964, the building's finishes were dismantled, extensions were made, and the bell tower openings were bricked up. From 1971 to 1982, the church was restored, while also being adapted for the Bryansk regional planetarium. In 1993, the Orthodox parish was reestablished, but the church building was only handed over to the parish on December 3, 1999.

At the request of the Bishop of Bryansk and Sevsk, in 2002, the parish was transformed into the Gorno-Nikolsky Men's Monastery. On December 18, 2010, the consecration of the Altar and the renovation of the church took place. By decree of the ruling Hierarch, the church was granted the status of the Cathedral Church of the Gorno-Nikolsky Monastery.

In July 2012, the construction of a brotherly monastery building for the monks' residence began.

The funds collected during services only cover the monastery's current needs. It is practically impossible to allocate money for anything serious, as only a little remains after paying utility bills and salaries to the monastery staff.