The Orthodox Diocese of Sitka and Alaska has announced a special week of prayer from August 12 to 15, seeking peace and divine guidance for the upcoming high-level talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, scheduled to take place in Alaska on August 15.

In an official statement published on the diocese’s website, the Church emphasized the spiritual significance of the summit and its location:

“At this hour, we ask our Lord Jesus Christ to guide these talks with mercy, to calm hostility, and to bring an end to the shedding of blood. That this meeting is taking place in Alaska holds deep meaning for us: this land has long been a bridge between Russia and America, spiritually shaped from the beginning by the Orthodox faith brought here by Saints Herman, Innocent, and Jacob — a faith preserved by Native peoples to this day.”

The diocese stressed that praying for leaders is not a political act but a spiritual responsibility. Rooted in Orthodox tradition, such prayers are made “so that peace may be granted and preserved,” the statement noted.

The summit, confirmed by both Washington and Moscow, aims to address pathways toward resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. While the White House described the talks as preliminary, President Trump stated he would urge President Putin to end the conflict and would brief Ukrainian and European leaders afterward.

Archbishop Alexei of Alaska has called on the faithful to pray especially on the day of the summit:

“May the Lord enlighten our leaders, grant them wisdom, restraint, and just decisions.”

The Orthodox Diocese of Alaska is one of the oldest in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), tracing its roots to the late 18th-century Russian missionary presence in North America. Pioneering figures such as Saint Herman of Alaska, Saint Innocent (Veniaminov), and Father Jacob Netsvetov laid a strong spiritual foundation among Alaska’s Native peoples — a legacy that continues today among roughly 50,000 Orthodox Christians across the state.

Following the 1867 sale of Alaska to the United States, the Church’s mission endured under the Russian Orthodox Church in North America. In 1970, the Moscow Patriarchate granted the Orthodox Church in America full independence (autocephaly), with the Alaskan Diocese maintaining its Russian liturgical heritage and veneration of its missionary saints.