Greece Legalizes Same-Gender Marriage

In a groundbreaking decision, Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox-majority nation to legalize same-gender marriage. The new law, which was passed on Thursday, also allows same-gender couples to adopt children.

A multipartisan majority of 176 out of 300 parliament members voted to legalize gay marriage in a move Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said would “boldly abolish a serious inequality.” This has been a hard-fought victory, and one that Mitsotakis has been pushing for since 2021. Greece is only the 16th nation in the European Union to legalize same-gender marriage, and perhaps more important, it is the first nation dominated by Orthodox Christianity to do so. The bill would also allow same-gender couples to adopt children, though surrogate childbirth is still off the table.

And indeed, the Orthodox church in Greece (which has a powerful political and cultural presence), has made clear their opposition to the new law. This branch of the church still firmly believes that homosexuality is a sin, and Archbishop Ieronymos went as far as to say that the legalization of same-gender marriage would “corrupt the homeland’s social cohesion.” Greek citizens supporting the church held a protest rally in Athens while the final votes were being cast, marching and reading aloud Bible passages.

Nevertheless, the law did pass—and LGBTQ+ advocates in Greece are overjoyed. Activist Stella Belia says, “It’s a historic moment. A lot of us weren’t sure it would ever come. We have waited years for this.” Hopes are high that Greece will lead a wave of other Orthodox-dominated nations to follow suit. Montenegro and Cyprus already permit same-gender unions, though marriage is still off the table for citizens of those nations.

Greece has already passed legislation recognizing transgender citizens’ gender identities and has completely banned conversion therapy (something nations such as the United States and United Kingdom have yet to do).