According to the charter of the Canadian Armenian Diocese, decisions about the administrative and financial matters of the diocese are made by the diocesan council and not by the priest, so to attribute to the priest misdemeanors, which he did not have the authority according to the charter, is a fabrication and slander.
Referring to the information spread about the name of the former leader of the diocese, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the presbytery of the Canadian Armenian Diocese has issued a message.
"It is unfair to go back to the special issues and phenomena of those days without detailing all the data. We can confidently emphasize that Gersh. T. Bagrat Srbazan worked hard to find the best solutions.
Among the specific examples, it is not appropriate to point out the "value of self-movement conducted by him", because self-movement belongs to the Diocese and not to the Leader personally, the value of which is determined and confirmed by diocesan patterns and regulations," the message says.
The Presidium also referred to the "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, noting that along with the entire Armenian people, the Armenian community in Canada also follows the events taking place in the homeland with deep concern and attention.
"It is obvious that the "Tavush Movement" led by the Leader of the Diocese of Tavush Gersh. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who previously served as the Leader of the Canadian Armenian Diocese, in the course of various public exchanges, inappropriate allusions are often made to the Bishop's personality, referring to his tenure in Canada.
In order to fairly answer the many questions addressed to us, we confirm the following: Archbishop Galstanyan served as the third Leader of the Diocese in 2003-2013.
The Canadian Armenian Diocese has passed through many difficult milestones in its formation, among which is undoubtedly the tenure of Archbishop Bagrat. It is easy to freely make serious slanders and criticisms against the leader of the diocese without having all the details of the issues being discussed. In fact, during his 10-year tenure, Bishop Bagrat, in addition to ongoing diocesan works, has worked tirelessly to make church construction works a success," the statement said.
