Overview

• The Aug. 15 encounter in Anchorage followed Vladimir Putin’s summit with President Donald Trump and included friendly greetings and an exchange of Orthodox icons.
• Metropolitan Tikhon said Archbishop Alexei arranged the meeting without informing him and stressed it does not represent the Orthodox Church in America’s stance, which condemns the aggression against Ukraine.
• Alexei said he greeted Putin in a spirit of hospitality after days of prayer for peace and later apologized to those hurt or confused, but he did not express regret for holding the meeting itself.
• Leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA denounced the encounter as a betrayal of the Gospel and said it conferred legitimacy on Putin.
• The Associated Press noted Putin is under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant related to the invasion of Ukraine, underscoring why critics found the exchange inappropriate.