Orthodox Christians across Alaska have begun three days of prayer for peace, ahead of Friday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The high-level meeting in Alaska is set to focus on the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The spiritual initiative comes as Orthodoxy, the majority religion in both Russia and Ukraine, has become a significant source of contention.
The Russian church’s leadership has strongly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has exacerbated a deep schism among Ukraine’s Orthodox faithful.
Archbishop Alexei of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska in the Orthodox Church of America said: “With the leaders coming to Alaska, what is the one thing that the church can offer? That is prayers for peace.”
The Orthodox Church of America (OCA) is the independent descendant of Russian Orthodox missionaries who established the faith in Alaska during the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was a Tsarist territory.
The church now oversees approximately 80 parishes statewide and hundreds more across North America.
The prayers commenced on Tuesday, with initial supplications seeking the intercession of St. Olga of Kwethluk — an Alaska Native woman canonised in June as the first Orthodox woman saint in North America.
“She was known to be really a healer in families,” said Alexei, who led prayers dedicated to her on Tuesday at St. Innocent Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Anchorage. “And because of the great pain and hardship that is experienced by families in Ukraine and also in Russia, it felt good to start there.”
Wednesday’s services sought the intercession of St. Herman, an early monk and missionary “known for standing up against Russian authorities when they were doing what was wrong to the people,” Alexei said.
On Thursday, the prayers focused on a historic icon of the Mother of God at the cathedral in Sitka, which was the capital of Alaska under Russian rule. Alexei said he hopes the prayers “will touch the hearts of our leaders.”
Lorinda Fortuin, one of the worshippers at Tuesday’s service at the Anchorage cathedral, echoed the thought.
“My heart breaks for my Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox brothers that are killing each other, over what?” she said.
“It’s just a shame, and I want to just do what I can to bring peace to this world, and I believe my prayers can play a part in that.”
Mark Kalashnikov, another worshipper and a native of Russia living in the United States, said many people he knows have suffered in the war.
“It is reassuring to see there is at least some communication happening,” he said of the summit. “We are trying to do what is asked of us, to come together as a community locally and to pray.”