Supporters of the Sacred Struggle movement leader Bagrat Galstanyan gathered outside the building of Armenia’s National Security Service of Armenia to congratulate the archbishop on his 55th birthday.

The participants marched to Saint Anna Church and later returned to the National Security Service building, where they congratulated the archbishop with banners and chanted, “Light will defeat darkness.” Supporters also brought a cake and congratulatory letters.

According to Sputnik Armenia, lawyers representing defendants in the Sacred Struggle case also joined the rally, along with Gegham Manukyan from the Hayastan faction, Edmon Marukyan, leader of the Bright Armenia party, and others.

Participants lit candles on the birthday cake and sang: “Happy birthday, Your Eminence, God bless you, Your Eminence.” They then cut the cake and distributed it among those gathered. Gegham Manukyan promised to deliver the letters to Bagrat Galstanyan.

“Every political prisoner, and in this case, archbishop Bagrat, while sitting in a prison cell, is fighting for our rights. They are dedicating the most precious thing — freedom — to this struggle. And we are obliged through such actions and through constant public attention to keep the issue of political prisoners in focus,” said Hayk Mamijanyan, head of the “I Have Honor” parliamentary faction.

According to Mamijanyan, in 2024 archbishop Bagrat organized the largest protest rally in Armenia’s history. He argued that even Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had not managed to gather as many people in 2018.

According to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, participants and leaders of the Sacred Struggle movement planned terrorist acts and actions aimed at seizing power in Armenia.

In June 2025, the Investigative Committee released recordings allegedly involving the movement’s leaders, including a voice said to belong to archbishop Bagrat, saying: “You shoot two people against the wall, imprison about 15 others. You execute them, compensate the families for their lives, and they’ll even be happy.” On August 11, Bagrat Galstanyan’s defense team presented what it described as the unedited version of the recordings.