Church of Greece denounces government plans to legalize same-sex marriage

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The Church of Greece, the state church of the predominantly Orthodox Christian country, on Tuesday strongly denounced government plans to legalize same-sex marriage.

In a statement issued after an extraordinary meeting of its Holy Synod, the church said: “The Church of Greece recognizes only the holy sacrament of Christian marriage and rejects civil marriage regardless of gender. In this regard, it rejects civil marriage of ‘same-sex couples’ for the further reason that this inevitably leads to 'same-sex parenthood' through adoption or surrogate motherhood.”

The church argued the bill to legalize same-sex marriage “clashes both with Christian anthropology and with society's obligation to guarantee prosperity and the right upbringing, as well as with the right of children to a father's and a mother's presence and care.”

Against this background, it stressed that the church, “with a sense of pastoral responsibility and love,” is firmly opposed to the bill.

Twenty countries in Europe have reportedly legalized gay marriage, including France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.