Athens, February 16, 2024
Supporters of the LGBTQ community gather Thursday outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers vote on a same-sex marriage and same-sex couples adoption bill in Athens. Aris Messinis / AFP - Getty Images
Greek Parliament voted late last night, despite the fierce and persistent resistance from the Church and society, to legalize gay marriage and adoption by gay couples.
Greece thus becomes the first Orthodox nation to do so.
176 out of 300 MPs voted in favor of the relevant bill, 76 against, 2 abstained, and 46 were not present, reports the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that Greece “is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality.”
“This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece—a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” he wrote.
Greece had already legalized gay civil unions nearly a decade ago. Under that law, only the biological parents of children being raised by such couples were recognized as legal guardians, whereas now, gay parents can both be afforded legal rights over the children.
Unsurprisingly, the new law has divided Greek society, where the vast majority of people profess Orthodox Christianity. The Church has raised its voice against gay marriage many times over the past few months. Statements have come from the Holy Synod, the broader Council of Bishops, the Eparchial Synod of Crete, Mt. Athos (see here and here), and from a host of individual hierarchs and groups of clerics throughout the country.
Tens of thousands rallied against the bill on Athens’ central square earlier this week, but their voices were not heard.
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