Did you know that
feasting at the Archimandrite of the Lavra became a tradition in the 17th century?
Thus, Patrick Gordon, a military engineer of Scottish origin and chief of the Kyiv garrison, who visited Kyiv several times from 1679 to 1686, mentioned in his diaries the hospitable receptions arranged by the monastery for garrison officers, Cossack regimental officers and Moscow officialdom. At such events, which were an integral part of secular culture, aside from a friendly conversation, important issues on the interaction of the monastery and the military, the construction of Kyiv fortifications, military campaigns and others were discussed. Later, already in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra arranged magnificent receptions for representatives of the imperial family.
