Armenia is currently experiencing new social and political developments following its defeat by Azerbaijan last summer, which resulted in the loss of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) region and the displacement of 120,000 Armenians. Most Armenians hold Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responsible for this defeat, attributing it to his pivot away from the traditional ally, Russia, in favor of closer ties with the United States and Europe. This decision has left Armenia isolated against Azerbaijan, which is supported by Turkey. It is important to note that Azerbaijan has a population of over ten million, while Armenia has about three million, surrounded to the west by over 80 million Turks of the same ethnicity as the Azerbaijanis.

In response to this situation, a protest movement has been organized against Pashinyan, especially after he ceded several additional Armenian villages in an attempt to appease Azerbaijan and Turkey. This movement, named "Tavush in the Name of the Motherland," was initiated by the residents of the ceded territories. Priest Bagrat Galstanyan, who has become the leader of the movement, has managed to unite organizations opposing Pashinyan and founded a Christian political party demanding the Prime Minister's ouster.

Aware that two-thirds of the Parliament supports the government, the movement is considering non-peaceful means to achieve its goals. The opposition, led by the Pan-Armenian Front Party under Father Bagrat's leadership, plans to organize a "public tribunal for national pride" against Pashinyan, deemed a traitor to the Armenian nation. The movement intends to mobilize the Armenian diaspora, which numbers 13 million, to strip Pashinyan of his political legitimacy and his right to determine the country's future.

The movement believes that the Armenian diaspora has always acted as the guardian of Armenian interests, preventing Armenia's leaders from exceeding the limits set by national and ethnic Armenian interests. The movement led by Father Bagrat plans to exploit the Armenian Diaspora Summit, organized by Pashinyan and scheduled for September 17-20, to turn this event into a public trial of the Armenian Prime Minister.

This event is expected to attract 1,000 representatives from the diaspora worldwide. The movement led by Bagrat believes that "traitors should not lead such forums," asserting that the global Armenian community must develop a unified political, economic, social, and cultural program based on the condemnation of the "Pashinyan regime, which betrays Armenian interests." Father Bagrat will represent the voice of the diaspora within the framework of the public tribunal, organized by the Pan-Armenian Front Party as a new political force in Armenia.

The central role of the Armenian Church in the country's national identity is being revitalized by Bagrat Galstanyan. Born in Gyumri in 1971, he is an influential religious figure who has held various positions of responsibility within the Church. In May 2024, Father Bagrat launched a protest march from Tavush to Yerevan to protest against the cession of several Armenian villages to Azerbaijan by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. On May 26, 2024, tens of thousands of demonstrators demanded Pashinyan's resignation during a march organized by "Tavush for the Motherland." The movement has designated Bagrat Galstanyan as a candidate for Prime Minister in the next elections, opposing Nikol Pashinyan.

The movement has designated Bagrat Galstanyan as a candidate for Prime Minister in the next elections...

Bagrat Galstanyan was born in Gyumri (formerly Leninakan) in Armenia on May 20, 1971. He joined the Gevorgian Seminary of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, where he was ordained a deacon in 1993 by Bishop Anania Arabajian. In 1995, his thesis "Praise and Theology of Khosrov Andzevatsi on the Daily Prayers of Our Church" (the Armenian Church) received an excellent grade, leading to his ordination as a celibate priest the same year by the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin I, adopting the name of Archbishop Bagrat Vardzaryan, who was assassinated in 1937 by Soviet authorities during the suppression of an Armenian uprising when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union.

Bagrat Galstanyan is the supervisor of his own series "Know the Gospel," consisting of weekly sermons and commentaries on the New Testament, including several debates and discussions on religious topics. He has published numerous articles in the theological, social, and cultural fields related to Armenia and the Armenian Church, making him a well-known figure among Armenians, especially the clergy.

In 2002, Father Bagrat was appointed vice-general of the Aragatsotn diocese in Armenia. He founded a dance troupe and a children's choir in Oshakan, expanded and restructured the Christian Education Center, and created "youth computer centers." He made significant efforts to reclaim the property of 17 monasteries and churches, as well as adjacent lands, from the government in the regions of Ashtarak, Aparan, and Talin, historically attached to the Holy See but nationalized by Soviet Armenian authorities.

In 2003, the General Assembly of the Canadian diocese elected Galstanyan as the head of the Armenian Church diocese of Canada. A month later, the Catholicos of Armenians, Karekin II, elevated Bagrat to the rank of bishop in the cathedral of the Holy See.

In 2015, Galstanyan was appointed head of the Tavush diocese by Catholicos Karekin II, and he was also appointed to the Supreme Spiritual Council in 2017. In February 2017, Bagrat was appointed Archbishop of the Armenian Church.

On May 4, 2024, Father Bagrat launched a protest march from Tavush to Yerevan to protest against the cession of several Armenian villages to Azerbaijan by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. On May 26, 2024, tens of thousands of demonstrators demanded Pashinyan's resignation during a march organized by "Tavush for the Motherland." The movement has designated Bagrat Galstanyan as a candidate for Prime Minister in the next elections, opposing Nikol Pashinyan.