Greece becomes first Orthodox country to approve same-sex marriage

Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Greece became the first Orthodox country to legalize same-sex marriage Thursday and granted equal parental rights for gay couples, making it easier for them to adopt children.

The bill, approved by Parliament, divided Greek society and drew intense opposition from the Greek Orthodox Church.

Greece becomes the 16th European country to approve same-sex marriage, and it is the first Orthodox Christian nation to do so. It extended civil partnerships in 2015 but did not extend equal parental rights.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made passage of the bill a priority after his landslide election victory last year.

Same-sex marriage is a matter of equal rights, he told his Cabinet last month, and that 30 other countries have similar legislation in place.

Mitsotakis said there should be no "second-class citizens" or "children of a lesser God."

In addition to providing equal rights to same-sex couples, the measure will be instantly felt in the everyday lives of parents, partners, and legal guardians. It will allow couples with children "to collect them from school, to be able to travel with them, to take them to the doctor," for example, whereas the previous, less sweeping rule, only extended that right to a biological parent.

While the law is a significant change for the Orthodox nation, it stops short of providing same-sex couples with access to assisted reproduction or the option of surrogate pregnancies. Nor does it give transgender people parental rights.

Supporters of the measure called its passage a significant victory.

Maria Gavouneli, the president of the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, called the measure "long overdue."

Stella Belia, the founder of Rainbow Families, an organization that supports same-sex families, called it "a major victory that we've been fighting for years."

Still, Greece remains among Europe's most socially conservative nations, and the bill also drew notable opposition.

The leader of Greece's Communist Party, Dimitris Koutsoubas, told Parliament on Thursday that legalizing same-sex marriage would "abolish the unity of motherhood and fatherhood."

The Holy Synod, the Greek Orthodox Church's highest authority, said in a letter to Parliament this month that the bill "abolishes fatherhood and motherhood, neutralizes the sexes" and creates an environment of confusion for children.

The measure passed 176 to 76 in the 300-seat Parliament.