A cooking show was filmed in the Refectory Church of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

On December 13, 2024, 1+1 TV channel aired the Real Stories TV show, which was filmed on November 29 in the Refectory Church of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. During the program, showman and chef Yevhen Klopotenko cooked various dishes and talked about the traditions of Ukrainian cuisine. Klopotenko wrote about this on his Instagram account.

“Earlier, when I was a member of the UOC-MP, I could only dream of this — the refectory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery, and we are filming a Christmas episode about Ukrainian sacred dishes and reviving the culture in the shrine itself. Oh wow!”, — Klopotenko wrote in a comment to the photo.

As reported, on December 6, 2024, a “military prayer breakfast” was held in the Refectory Church of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra under the auspices of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The event, organized in the premises of the Orthodox church, was attended by representatives of various denominations, political and military organizations. Social media users were outraged that the church had been turned into a venue for secular events, drawing parallels with Ukraine’s communist past, when places of worship were closed by the authorities or reorganized for non-targeted needs.