Refectory

On the south side of the cathedral the Refectory (Warm, or Small Sophia) is situated, built in 1722-1730 (?). It combined the Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus, a dining room and a kitchen. On the first floor there were pantries for food and monastery utensils. A large warehouse was arranged under the house. In the 60s of the eighteenth century the refectory was completed with the participation of the famous Ukrainian architect I. Hryhorovych-Barsky. In 1822, according to the project of architect A. Melensky, the Refectory was rebuilt into a winter church of the Nativity of Christ. Since then it has been called Warm, or Small Sophia. In 1872, the warm church was significantly rebuilt and given the appearance of a three-nave basilica with a high central nave, which ends in the east with a large altar topped by a pear-shaped dome. This beautiful baroque building is covered with a bend roof and decorated with a lush wavy pediment on the west side. During the restoration of the 1970s, the Refectory was partially restored to its original architectural forms. The exhibition “The First Temples of Kyiv” is housed in the Refectory. Here you can get acquainted with the fragments of the mosaic floor from the Tithe Church, the tomb decorated with carvings of the 11^th-12^th centuries, the history of the study of architectural monuments of ancient Kyiv, etc.