A week after Greece became one of the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption, the Metropolis of Piraeus has announced it will be distancing itself from politicians who voted for the bill.
According to Kathimerini, in a resolution “to address the consequences of the law on the marriage of same-sex individuals,” signed by Metropolitan Seraphim and other church council and administrative committee members, it stated it would not invite any of the 176 lawmakers who voted for the bill to any parish event until they revoked the law.
“To protect our ministry and respect our responsibility before God, we sever our ties with those who voted against divine law, not inviting them to any parish event until they show genuine repentance by repealing this heinous legislation,” it said.
The bill was approved by 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament and will become law when its published in the official government gazette.
Although members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill, it gained enough support from the leftist opposition in a rare show of cross-party unity despite a tense debate.
Greek are divided on the issue. The Orthodox Church, which believes homosexuality is a sin, has strongly opposed same-sex marriage, while many in the LGBTQI community believe the bill does not go far enough.
