Ukrainian chef organized a cooking show in Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

Ukrainian chef and restaurateur Yevhen Klopotenko has held a cooking show in the refectory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra church. This was reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) on December 15. The photo from the refectory was also published in social networks by the cook himself.

Representatives of the Union of Journalists pointed out that the cooking show in the temple was arranged by the restaurateur Evgeny Klopotenko and the producer of the TV company that showed the program. Employees of the TV channel explained the decision to choose the location for filming by the fact that "church records often preserve recipes that are considered lost."

However, Ukrainian believers criticized the actions of the TV channel. The SPJ noted that the temple is a place that is dedicated to prayer, repentance and spiritual growth, not entertainment.

"Not prayer, but a show. Now in the Refectory temple of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra everything, but not Divine services", - are the words of the Rivne diocese in Telegram-channel SPJ.

Archpriest Alexander Klimenko noted that there are dozens of other suitable places for cooking shows in the city. He emphasized that TV shows and "prayer breakfasts" should not be held in churches, they should be prayed in.

"It is obviously important for them to publicly show again and again their disdain for what was and is sacred to people of faith," the SPJ quoted him as saying.

Earlier, on November 2, it was reported that in Lutsk, in western Ukraine, murals depicting prominent businessmen from the Volyn region appeared in the upper church of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, which belongs to the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU). The iconographer of the cathedral, Deacon Yuriy Hetymanchuk, explained that these people are patrons of the arts and their portraits appeared six months ago. At the same time, the frescoes caused contradictory feedback from the public, and changes had to be made to the murals.

In September 2023, Ukraine introduced a fee for visiting the underground caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, as well as for entering the premises of the Lower and Upper Lavra. According to the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ), the minimum price for which believers can get inside the religious shrine is 150 hryvnia (about 390 rubles). To do this, a group of visitors of five people must be gathered. If there are fewer people in the group, each of them will have to pay 750 hryvnia (almost Br2 thousand).

Kiev's persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate began in 2022: criminal cases were brought against clergy and monks, they were expelled from churches, which were seized by unknown people in military uniforms and supporters of the PCU. Temples, churches and even the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra were searched: they were looking for traces of "anti-Ukrainian activity". Believers tried to defend the churches, the seizure of which was almost always accompanied by violence, and went out to rallies.