Greece becomes first Orthodox country to legalize same-sex civil marriage

Greece on Thursday became the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage, despite opposition from the influential, socially conservative Greek Church.

A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late Thursday in favor of the landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right government. An additional 76 rejected the reform, two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present.

Mitsotakis tweeted after the vote 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.

Scores of supporters of the reform who had gathered outside parliament and were watching the debate on a screen cheered loudly and hugged as the vote result was announced.

Earlier, people opposed to the bill protested nearby, holding prayer books and religious icons.

Opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the reform by a narrow margin, and the issue has failed to trigger deep divisions in a country more worried about the high cost of living.

The bill was backed by four left-wing parties, including the main opposition Syriza.

“This law doesn’t solve every problem, but it is a beginning,” said Spiros Bibilas, a lawmaker from the small left-wing Passage to Freedom party, who is gay.

It was approved despite several majority and left-wing lawmakers abstaining or voting against the reform. Three small far-right parties and the Stalinist-rooted Communist

Party rejected the draft law from the start of the two-day debate.

“People who have been invisible will finally be made visible around us. And with them, many children (will) finally find their rightful place,” Mitsotakis told lawmakers before the evening vote.

“Both parents of same-sex couples do not yet have the same legal opportunities to provide their children with what they need,” he added. “To be able to pick them up from school, to be able to travel, to go to the doctor, or take them to the hospital . ... That is what we are fixing.”

The bill confers full parental rights on married same-sex partners with children. But it precludes gay couples from parenthood through surrogate mothers in Greece — an option available to women who can’t have children for health reasons.

Maria Syrengela, a lawmaker from the governing New Democracy, or ND, said the reform redresses a long-standing injustice for same-sex couples and their children.

“And let’s reflect on what these people have been through, spending so many years in the shadows, entangled in bureaucratic procedures,” she said.