Bagrat Galstanyan

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan (; born May 20, 1971) is an Armenian prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church who is currently serving as bishop of the Diocese of Tavush. He also served as primate of the Armenian Diocese of Canada based in Montreal from May 2003 to May 2013. As the bishop of a border region affected by the cession of villages to Azerbaijan, he led protests against the Armenian government in 2024.

As of December 2025, he is detained for allegedly planning a putsch. This position also included directorship of spiritual programming on Shoghakat TV television. Bagrat became the moderator on his own series, “To Know the Gospel” This series consisted of weekly sermons and commentaries on the New Testament, including numerous episodes of debates and discussions on religious topics. Bagrat Galstanyan has published numerous articles on theology, social, cultural spheres concerning Armenia, and the Armenian Church.

In 2002, he was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Aragatsotn in Armenia. Bagrat founded a children’s dance group and choir in Oshakan, expanded and restructured the Christian Education Center, and established “Youth Computing Centers”. Seventeen monasteries and churches with their adjacent lands were re-obtained from the government in Ashtarak, Aparan and Talin which historically belonged to the Mother See, but were annexed by the previous Soviet regime. He acquired a day care, youth centre in Talin, under the spiritual guidance of the Diocese of Aragatsotn. In 2013, Reverend Bagrat was accused of trying to mortgage the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Canada to refill the church's coffers. Galstanyan lost the election for primate on May 25, 2013 and was replaced by Aren Jebejian.

In 2015 Galstanyan was named the Primate of the Tavush Diocese by Karekin II and was named to the Supreme Spiritual Council in 2017.

On February 17, 2023, Galstanyan was elevated in the rank of archbishop by Karekin II. He attended studies at the College of the Resurrection at Mirfield, at the same time assuming the position of visiting priest of Manchester's Holy Trinity Armenian Church, until the year 2000. From 1996 to 2000 Bishop Bagrat was an active contributing member of the organizing Executive Committee of the celebrations for the 1,700th. Anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia.

Honors On 6 January 2013, in Montreal, Galstanyan was presented with the Diamond Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II. Alexandre Boulerice, Member of Parliament for the Rosemont, presented the medal on behalf of Thomas Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Outremont.

Protest activity On 4 May 2024, Archbishop Bagrat Galastanyan began a protest march from Tavush and arrived in Yerevan on 9 May 2024.

On 26 May 2024, the "Tavush for the Homeland" movement spearheaded by Galstanyan held a rally attended by tens of thousands of supporters who along with the Archbishop demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government after the Armenian government unilaterally agreed to return to Azerbaijan four villages in the Qazakh District near the Tavush Province which were captured by Armenia during the First Nagorno-Karabakh war under the border delimitation process between the two countries.

On 26 May 2024, the "Tavush for the Homeland" movement named Archbishop Bagrat Galastanyan as its candidate for Prime Minister of Armenia.

Alleged coup d'etat preparations

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was detained on putsch charges in late June 2025, together with 13 other suspects. He is accused of having planned to overthrow the Pashinyan government in September by deploying 200 groups of militants with 25 members each. Weeks before, businessman Samvel Karapetyan had been arrested for allegedly inciting sedition.

Galstanyan was still in Kentron Prison at the end of 2025.