The first mention of the church appears in the "Topographical Description of the Kursk Province" from 1784, which states that there was a wooden church in this village dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, with three courtyards for clergy, where 17 people lived.

At that time, the village of Goryainovo had 80 taxable households, with 227 householders and Little Russians living on their own land (Ukrainians in the status of state peasants), as well as 12 people from the noble class.

Later, in addition to the village of Goryainovo, three more settlements were included in the parish of the Nicholas Church. The preserved clerical records from almost forty years allow us to trace changes in the population size and composition of these settlements, which were parishioners of the church. The church in Goryainovo had land: a homestead with a burial ground of 3 desyatinas 1006 square fathoms and arable land of 51 desyatinas 1042 square fathoms. The cemetery was located half a verst from the church.

In 1840, a new stone building of the church was constructed. The construction was supervised by Archpriest Peter Karakulin with the support of parishioners. The building was surrounded by a stone fence with three entrances. The porch was open, with a canopy on stone pillars. The church was plastered on the outside. The dimensions of the building were 35 arshins 9 vershoks by 25 arshins 7 vershoks. It had 24 windows, 16 of which had grilles. The church had seven domes, and the bell tower was three-tiered and connected to the main part. The domes and bell tower were covered with iron, painted on five domes. Of the crosses, two were gilded, one was painted yellow, five were pierced, and 22 were iron. The bell tower housed five bells weighing 108 poods 32 pounds; 39 poods 2 pounds; 16 poods 3 pounds; 2 poods 9.5 pounds; and 1 pud 7 pounds.

The church had three altars: in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and St. Great Martyr Paraskeva Friday. The altar screen was made of iron. The church's frescoes were updated in 1912. The iconostasis was wooden with gilding, four-tiered, measuring 16 by 11.5; 5 by 5.5; and 5 by 5.5 arshins, made in 1840 and 1864, updated in 1912 and 1913. In the main altar, there was a kiot with an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker measuring 1 arshin 3.5 vershoks by 13 vershoks in a silver robe weighing 11.5 pounds with enamel and glass.

Since 1893, a church parish school operated at the church, located in a wooden lodge. The church library had 90 volumes of spiritual literature. The school was managed by a priest, who also taught the Law of God, while a deacon, who did not receive a salary for his work, served as the teacher. Between 30 and 50 girls studied at the school. Since 1882, a parish chronicle was kept at the church, which unfortunately has not survived.

After the decree of the SNK of the RSFSR on January 23, 1918, the Nicholas Church continued to operate according to the charter of the religious society of the village of Goryainovo and an agreement with the executive committee of the Oboyan volost council of workers, peasants, and Red Army deputies.

According to the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on February 23, 1922, church valuables were confiscated from the church: sacred vessels, lamps, censers, vestments from icons, covers from gospels, a total of 25 items weighing 1 pud 31 pounds.

In the 1930s, the situation of the church worsened. In 1934, the Goryainovo village council, under the pretext of needing a grain storage facility, occupied the church for three months. The church's benefactor, Alexandra Yakovlevna Afanaseva, who resisted, was arrested and the keys were taken away. In 1935, the church was freed from grain, but it was not returned to the believers. In 1935 and 1936, parishioners repeatedly complained to the Oboyan district executive committee, the Kursk regional executive committee, and even to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, from which a directive was issued to return the church to the believers. However, by that time, the church had suffered significant damage: the royal gates and altar were broken, and the iconostasis was destroyed. The Oboyan district executive committee did not comply with the directive of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. In April 1940, the district executive committee considered the petition of the Afanasevsky village council to close the church as it had not been functioning since 1933 due to the disbandment of the community. On June 8, 1940, the regional executive committee decided to close the church and transfer the building for cultural purposes.

During the Great Patriotic War, services in the church resumed. The priest at that time was Andrei Mikhailovich Semyakin. In 1944, an agreement was formalized between the residents of the village of Goryainovo and the Oboyan district executive committee for the free and indefinite use of the Nicholas Church building. From the 1940s to the 1980s, the church remained active.

By the decree of the governor of the Kursk region on October 30, 1998, the Nicholas Church in the village of Goryainovo was placed under protection as a monument of cult architecture of regional significance (listed under the village of Afanasevo, as it is part of the Afanasevsky village council).