Pan-Armenian Council for Preservation of Armenian Church demands  release of Archbishop Galstanyan

ArmInfo.The Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church demands the immediate release of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and an end to the shameful campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). This was stated in a statement received by ArmInfo by Pan-Armenian Council Chairman Harutyun Agha-Sarkissian, amid the ongoing arrest of Archbishop  Bagrat.

He noted that what is happening is not a legal process, but a cunning  and cheap act of political terrorism orchestrated by those with  influence in the state. In this regard, he recalled that Galstanyan  tirelessly supported the people of Armenia during the days of  bloodshed, loss, and national humiliation. "It is precisely for this  unyielding character and the truth he spoke to his face that he has  become the main target today. One should not be deceived by the false  legal veneer: there is no law or justice here, only a dirty order  from a cowardly force that is leading the country to destruction.  They seek to imprison and silence the voice that exposes their  anti-national nature," Agha-Sarkissian noted.

The Chairman of the Pan-Armenian Council expressed his conviction  that these actions are aimed at eradicating the last bastion of  resistance of the Armenian people-the Armenian Apostolic Church  (AAC), and that Galstanyan's arrest essentially deals a blow to the  national pillar. "This is a spiritual genocide, perpetrated at the  state level, while the enemy applauds. This regime has long since  crossed all red lines.  This is no longer just an anti-church  demonstration, but hostility toward the Armenian people, with the  goal of the final destruction and division of Armenia. We are not  asking; we are demanding an immediate end to the fabricated charges  and this political vendetta against Galstanyan. Every new day of this  disgrace only doubles the historical guilt of the ruling regime and  the severity of the future sentence. We call on all Armenians in  Armenia and the Diaspora to emerge from their stupor. Silence today  is tantamount to betrayal," the Chairman of the Pan-Armenian Council  emphasized.

Agha-Sarkissian is confident that defending the archbishop is not a  matter of saving one soul, but a struggle for the existence and  dignity of the Armenian state. "The Pan-Armenian Council for the  Preservation of the Armenian Church demands the immediate release of  Archbishop Galstanyan and an end to the shameful campaign against the  Armenian Apostolic Church. We remind you once again: those who  attempt to silence the Armenian Church are doomed to irreversible  historical and moral rejection," the Chairman of the Pan- Armenian  Council concluded.

As a reminder, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan launched a  broad anti-church campaign in May 2025, demanding the resignation of  Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II. As part of this campaign,  several clergy members were detained. On June 25, 18 opposition  figures and supporters of the "Sacred Struggle" movement, led by the  movement's leader, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, were arrested. They  are accused of attempting to "seize power" and "terrorism."  "Recordings of conversations between movement members" are cited as  evidence of their guilt.