[1] Initially ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, Nichols was received into the Episcopal priesthood in 1999.

[2] Nichols was also nominated and appointed as a member of the Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church (TREC).

[2][3] In 2018, Nichols was elected, ordained, and consecrated as Bishop of Bethlehem, filling a multi-year vacancy left by his predecessor, Paul V.

[2] Nichols was originally ordained a Roman Catholic priest after receiving his Master of Divinity from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore.

He was consecrated on September 15, 2018, at the First Presbyterian Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.