Greece Becomes First Christian Orthodox Nation To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

ATHENS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Greece has become the first religiously Christian Orthodox nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

In Athens, a cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late Thursday in favor of the bill drafted by the center-right government of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Another 76 rejected the reform, while two abstained from the vote, and 46 others were not present.

The new law also recognizes parental rights for same-sex couples but will not permit gay men to acquire biological children through surrogate mothers in Greece.

“This is a historic moment,” said Stella Belia, the head of same-sex parents group Rainbow Families. “This is a day of joy.”

However, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, which heads Orthodox churches in Greece and worldwide, opposed the bill. “Marriage is the union of man and woman under Christ… and the church does not accept the cohabitation of its members in any form other than marriage,” the Ecumenical Patriarchate stressed.

It echoed a decision by the church’s senior bishops in Greece earlier last month.

Greece’s decision is part of a broader trend in Europe.

Currently, 33 of the 50 countries and eight dependent territories in Europe recognize some type of same-sex union, including 24 of the 27 European Union member states.

However, EU member Hungary was not expected to follow Greece’s example: It has described marriage in its constitution as exclusively between a man and a woman.

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