According to Michael Protopopov, Fr Nikolai was born on November 10, 1917 in Khabarovsk. In 1922, he and his family fled to Harbin escaping the Bolsheviks. On March 3, 1939, he was ordained to the diaconate, and on December 1, 1940 to the priesthood, by Abp Melety of Harbin. He was appointed initially to complete the construction of St Innokenty Church in Sahalan (Heihe) along the Amur River (Heilongjiang). In 1942, he returned to Harbin and celebrated in St Sophia Church for two months.
According to A.V. Popov, Fr Nikolai also served at St Alexy Church in Harbin.
According to Harbin municipal religious archive, Fr Nikolai also served as the fourth rector (1943-1951) of St Nicholas Church of North Bank.
On May 24, 1963, Fr Nikolai immigrated to Australia where he served various parishes in the Sydney area. He reposed on June 13, 1972.