The head of the reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" criticized the architecture of the Refectory Church

Maxim Ostapenko, Director General of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”, criticized the architectural appearance of the Refectory Church consecrated in honor of Sts Maksym Ostapenko criticized the architectural appearance of the Refectory Church consecrated in honor of St. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk. In his recent interview, he characterized the building as an example of the “official Russian style” that replaced the traditional Ukrainian Baroque.

As Ostapenko stated in the “Real History” project ,-The Refectory Church was erected on the site of a dilapidated building that had Ukrainian Baroque architectural forms. In his opinion, had it not been for the revolutionary events of 1917, the policy of displacing Ukrainian architectural traditions with the “official Russian style” would have continued, which could have led to the almost complete destruction of baroque elements in church architecture.

It is worth noting that the current Refectory Church was built in 1893-1895 in the Russian-Byzantine style according to the project of the academician of architecture V. N. Nikolaev. The architectural solution was based on the image of St. Sophia of Constantinople. The building is a unique engineering construction: its 20-meter dome is considered the largest in Ukraine among those that have no internal support. The interior decoration of the temple, designed by Alexey Shchusev, as well as the paintings by Ivan Izhakevich and Grigory Popov, are the most valuable examples of Art Nouveau style in the world religious art.