The famous pastor of Armenia’s outstanding Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the security departments of more than a dozen people in Armenia, suspected of alleged coup attempts this week.
Bagrat Galstanyan, head of the Tavus parish in northeastern Armenia, attracted national attention last year in the southern Caucasus when he began leading a protest campaign to resign his prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and even said he would be willing to announce the replacement of him with Aminian leaders.
The movement flourished after Armenia’s land concessions to neighboring Azerbaijan, involving the transfer of villages on the border of Armenia.
Galstanyan, a dual citizen of Canada and Armenia, served as a primate in the Armenian diocese of Montreal from 2003 to 2013.
Pashinyan praised the work of law enforcement on his Facebook page and wrote in Armenian that they blocked a “big and mean” plan to destabilize the government through acts of terrorism and seizing power.
He also relates to a statement from the Armenian Commission of Inquiry, which made the arrests.
The committee said it had seized explosives and weapons and accused Galsteini of protests against the movement’s plan to explode and stage accidents on major roads to destroy traffic.
The Galstani movement denied the allegations, calling them “fictional.”
Canadian Global Affairs and its comments said, “Recognizing that Canadian citizens were arrested in Armenia”, adding: “Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to collect more information.”
The arrests came after tensions between the Armenian government and the country’s apostolic churches, which saw Armenia lose to Azerbaijan in a 2020 war, and Nagorno-karabakh and Azerbaijan military campaigns increasingly criticized Azerbaijan in a September 12, 2023 carnival. Give up their home.
Last month, Pashinyan accused Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the church, of secretly giving birth to a child despite a celibacy vow. The Armenian priest who was hinted on social media at the time was circumcised, not a real Christian. Earlier this week, Pashinyan went to Facebook to say he was ready to invite Catholics and pastors to invite “otherwise.”
Canada Global Affairs quoted confidentiality as saying it could not disclose further information about its involvement since Galstanyan’s arrest.
The Canadian government opened an embassy in Armenia in October 2023, where it recently worked due to conflicts between neighboring Iran and Israel, which triggered Egypt on the Iran-Armenian border, including Canadians.
In November 2022, Galstanyan attended the opening of a smaller Canadian Foreign Ministry Honorary Consulas a guest.
In 2020, in the last days of the war with Azerbaijan, Galstanyan shone on social media, holding a performance of Armenian ritual hymns at the cathedral of Shushi, the city of Nagorno-Karabakh, even when bombs were heard landing outside the structure.
Former immigration minister Jason Kenney shared a video on his social media channel at the time, calling Galstanyan a “dear friend” and said it was moving.
