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In 1776, Fr. Nikephoros was invited by [[Archbishop]] Eugenios Boulgaris of Slaviansk and Kherson, who was also of Greek origin, to join him at his [[diocese]]. The [[see|seat]] of the diocese was located in Poltava and remained there after the diocese was renamed Yekaterinoslav. Abp. Eugenios groomed Nikephoros as his successor, which happened when Nikephoros succeeded Eugenios upon his retirement in 1779.
Abp. Nikephoros was known to speak against dissenter religious groups, such as the Old Believers and the sectarians. In 1780, after disappointment with the results of trying to persuade Old Believers to abandon their rites, Abp. Nikephoros started to reach out to the Old Believer communities, and with the support of Metr. [[Platon II of Moscow|Platon of Moscow]], offered to legalize their churches and their form of worship, as long as they accepted the authority of the official church. After a number of Old Believer communities in the Ukraine and southern Russia accepted such arrangements over the following years, Abp. Nikephoros' approach was adopted nationwide, under the name of [[Edinoverie]] ('Unity in Faith'). <ref name=katunin>Yu.A. Katunin (Катунин Ю. А.), A.V. Belsky (Бельский А. В.) [http://www.nbuv.gov.ua/Articles/KultNar/knp81/pdf/knp81_106-109.pdf ЭТАПЫ БОРЬБЫ ЗА СОЗДАНИЕ ЦЕРКВИ У СТАРООБРЯДЦЕВ] (Stages of the struggle for creating a church among the Old Believers) {{ru icon}}</ref><ref name=paert>Irina Paert. "Old Believers, Religious Dissent and Gender in Russia, 1760-1850". Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0719063221 [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=sAuOkNIKDVYC On Google Books]</ref>
In 1786, Abp. Nikephoros was transferred to Astrakhan, where he served as the Archbishop of Astrakhan and Stavropol. In 1792, he retired as a diocesan [[bishop]] and became the [[abbot]] of the [[St. Daniel Monastery (Moscow)|Danilov Monastery]] in Moscow. Abp. Nikephoros reposed in 1800.