Archbishop Bagrat says he retains his religious title
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of a movement opposing the Armenian government’s unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan, retains his religious title despite the suspension of his spiritual service.
“I’m no longer the leader of the Tavush Diocese, but I remain an archbishop. My title has not been removed, I'm not defrocked,” Galstanyan told reporters at demonstrations led by him on Monday.
Addressing tens of thousands of people at a rally in Yerevan on Sunday, the senior cleric said he had asked Catholicos Karekin II to freeze his spiritual service so that he could become a candidate for prime minister in the opposition’s impeachment bid against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Separately, the clergyman denounced the police for brutal detentions of peaceful protesters in Yerevan and stated that Pashinyan was "scared" of the protest movement.
“Police officers have become a blunt tool in his hands,” he said.