An Orthodox archbishop who exchanged friendly greetings and gifts with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska has apologized to “those who have experienced pain, suffering, or confusion because of my actions."

However, Alaska Archbishop Alexei did not directly apologize for the meeting itself, which took place in Anchorage following Putin's Aug. 15 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, which was focused on the war in Ukraine .

Alexei's superior in the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon, distanced his church from the meeting. Tikhon said the archbishop failed to inform him of his plans to meet Putin, despite “canonical tradition” requiring a bishop to do nothing without informing his metropolitan.

Tikhon said the meeting doesn't represent the OCA's position, whi

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