Kipshidze: The Archbishop of Alaska apologized under pressure from Ukrainian immigrants

Deputy Head of the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for Church Relations with Society and the Media, Vakhtang Kipshidze, stated that the apology of Archbishop Alexy of Sitka and Alaska for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the result of informational pressure from Ukrainian immigrants. According to him, conservative circles in the United States, on the contrary, supported the hierarch’s actions. TASS reports.

Earlier, the website of the Orthodox Church in America published a statement from Archbishop Alexy, in which he asked forgiveness from those for whom his meeting with the Russian president had become “a cause of sorrow or confusion.”

Kipshidze emphasized that the apology was caused by external pressure:
“Obviously, Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska, who met with the President of the Russian Federation during his visit to Anchorage and later issued the so-called apology, became a victim of informational pressure. This pressure was organized by active immigrants from Ukraine, who also oppose the current U.S. administration, trying to discredit the peace initiatives of the President of the United States aimed at building good-neighborly relations with Russia.”

According to the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop Alexy’s actions received support among American conservatives, which gives hope for limiting the influence of opposing forces.

“We see in American social media a large number of positive responses regarding the meeting between President V. V. Putin and the ruling hierarch of the Sitka and Alaska Diocese. We are convinced that the Orthodox Church in America has enough opportunities to limit the influence of those who are trying to discredit Russian-American peace initiatives at the highest level,” Kipshidze concluded.

It should be recalled that the press service of the Orthodox Church in America published a statement with apologies for the meeting of Archbishop Alexy of Sitka and Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place on August 17, 2025. The OCA noted that Archbishop Alexy’s actions had not been agreed upon with the Synod, did not correspond to the official position of the Church, and contradicted the overall stance of the OCA regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war.