Greece has legalised same-sex marriage, making history as the first Christian Orthodox majority country to do so. Also, following a 176-76 vote in parliament on Thursday, same-sex couples are now legally permitted to adopt children.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the new legislation will “boldly abolish a serious inequality”. However, the strident opposition spearheaded by the influential Orthodox Church has split the nation. In Athens, its adherents staged a demonstration.
Numerous individuals gathered at Syntagma Square, the capital, to raise banners, hold crosses, recite prayers, and sing Bible passages.
The head of the Orthodox Church, Archbishop Leronymos, said the measure would “corrupt the homeland’s social cohesion”.
For the measure to be approved by the 300-member parliament, a simple majority was required. With dozens of members of his centre-right ruling party opposed, Mr Mitsotakis needed the cooperation of opposition parties to pass the bill, which he had championed.
In a discussion held just before the vote, the prime minister expressed hope that “people who have been invisible will finally be made visible around us,” adding that many children would “finally find their rightful place”.
“The reform makes the lives of several of our fellow citizens better, without taking away anything from the lives of the many.”
Greek LGBTQ groups have expressed their delight with the decision.
“This is a historic moment,” Stella Belia, leader of the same-sex parents’ organisation Rainbow Families, told Reuters news agency. “This is a day of joy.”
Prohibition on same-sex marriage has been lifted in fifteen of the twenty-seven member states of the European Union. It is legal in thirty-five nations throughout the globe.
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