Russias Orthodox Church on Wednesdayappointed a bishop who is reputed to be President Vladimir Putins spiritual adviser to head the diocese of annexed Crimea.The churchs governing body published a ruling transferring Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) from the Diocese of Pskov and Porkhov, which he has headed since 2018, to the Crimean Diocese.Metropolitan Tikhon wasfilmed in March 2023accompanying Putin on his surprise visit to Crimea marking the nine-year anniversary of its annexation from Ukraine.Crimeas Russian-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonovlauded Father Tikhon as one of the most famous and influential bishops.Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of the Crimean port of Sevastopol,credited Father Tikhon with paying close attention to Crimea for many years before his transfer.Both Aksyonov and Razvozhayev said they had maintained close contact with Father Tikhon prior to his appointment.Metropolitan Tikhons links to Putin have beenscrutinized since the late 1990s, when the president met him at a Moscow monastery frequented by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents.Neither Metropolitan Tikhon nor the Kremlin haveconfirmed ordenied his ties to Putin.Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and formed the Crimean Diocese in June 2022.Metropolitan Tikhons predecessor in the Crimean Diocese, Metropolitan Lazar, will retire following the transfer,the Church said in its ruling Wednesday.