On February 5, 2026, US President Donald Trump addressed the 74th National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton in Washington. According to the article, about 3,000 guests attended, and the program was overseen by The Fellowship Foundation, a group described as loyal to Trump.
In his 90-minute speech, the president improvised extensively and spoke about religion, international politics, and his own role in resolving conflicts. One of the most discussed moments was his remark that he would probably “go to heaven” because, he said, he had done “a lot of good.” Trump also repeated that peace can only be achieved through strength and again cast himself as a leader whose policies help prevent wars.
The article gives special attention to the question of Russian participation. The author says the presence of Leonid Sevastyanov, head of the World Union of Old Believers, was confirmed. At the same time, no photos or reports had appeared showing other Russian representatives inside the hall, although badges from the event were visible on several people in a photograph taken at the Russian embassy in Washington, including Oleg Goncharov.
According to the outlet, the makeup of foreign delegations changed this year partly because of pressure from Ukrainian participants, who had previously criticized invitations extended to Russian religious figures supporting the war against Ukraine. In 2026, the Ukrainian delegation was among the largest foreign groups at the event.
That same week, Washington also hosted the IRF Summit on international religious freedom. During one panel, Ukrainian participants and experts of Russian origin discussed the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the war. Viktor Yelensky, head of Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, said that a religious structure justifying violence becomes part of a repressive mechanism.
The article adds that the summit highlighted a worsening global picture for religious freedom. The bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which the Trump administration had earlier considered reforming, reported that the number of countries with severe restrictions in this area had risen from 27 to 40.