The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is located on a rising bank terrace above the valley of the Nepolod River, where the dried-up river Merin flowed into it. The first mention of the village of Bokanova appears in the land survey book of the Oryol district from 1678, compiled by Yefim Markovich Norov and clerk Savin Repyev.

At that time, the village belonged to Prince Ivan Stepanovich Khotetovsky, who had his own estate there. Ivan Stepanovich was a favorite of Tsarevna Sofia Alexeyevna and managed to maintain his position under Peter I. His son served as a chamberlain under Peter I and paid off his naval service with monetary contributions.

The first mention of the wooden Nicholas church dates back to 1734, and it is also mentioned in documents from 1755 and 1793. In 1802, 1807, 1854, 1872, 1885, and 1897, the church was repaired. In 1861, when Baklanovo became a volost center and one of the most populated villages in the Oryol district, the parishioners decided to build a more spacious stone church. In 1897, a construction committee was formed, headed by priest Mitrofan Panov, and on September 12, 1899, the laying of the new church took place at a higher location on the opposite bank of the Nepolod River.

To this day, the names of some builders of the church have been preserved: brick master Marinichev, carpenters Gorlin, Mishin, Shinarov, Ivan Starcev, iconostasis master Goncharenko, and others. The construction work was carried out by contractor Levakov with foremen Shirkov and Chekrygin and their crews. Architectural supervision was conducted by architect Pukhalsky during the foundation laying and diocesan architect Vilfort at subsequent stages. The construction was financed by local funds and donations, with peasants participating in the construction by performing cart and day labor.

On January 4, 1909, the single-altar church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was consecrated. The three-tiered bell tower was only completed to the middle of the second tier in 1910 and remained unfinished. It was replaced by a wooden belfry on posts located next to the church.

Services in the old wooden Nicholas church ceased in 1909. On April 12, 1921, the iconostasis was dismantled and transported to the village of Serenks in the Volkhov district, with some icons transferred to the new Nicholas church. In the same year, the church was inspected by the head of the Oryol regional museum, P. S. Tkachevsky, who made several sketches, after which it was dismantled for the construction of a school, and the preserved royal gates of the 18th century were transferred to the regional museum, but they did not survive.

The stone Nicholas church was closed in 1940, after which it lost the upper unfinished tier of the bell tower and all its domes except for the central one. In 1991, the church was handed over to the community of believers, and after restoration, it became active again in the autumn of 1995.