(CP) A Greek Orthodox Church regional body has banned two local politicians for his or her support of the laws that legalized same-sex marriage within the Eastern Mediterranean nation.
Church authorities on the north-western island of Corfu issued a press release Tuesday banning the politicians for committing “the deepest spiritual and moral error” in voting for the law.
“For us, these two (local) lawmakers cannot consider themselves lively members of the Church,” stated the bishopric of Corfu, as quoted by The Associated Press. “We exhort them to repent for his or her impropriety.”
The two lawmakers, who weren’t named within the report, will likely be barred from receiving communion and attending Orthodox Church events, and they’re going to not be given formal honors from clergy at official ceremonies.
The regional body commended one other politician for voting against the gay marriage laws, stating that this was “the form of politician, regardless of other convictions, that we want in our country.”
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, a political party that supported the legalization of same-sex marriage to which considered one of the banned lawmakers belongs, called the bishopric of Corfu’s decision “unacceptable,” in response to AP.
Last month, Greece’s Parliament passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage by a vote of 176 in favor and 76 against, coming off of a lengthy period of polarizing debate over the difficulty.
In addition to legalizing gay marriage, the law also allowed married same-sex partners to adopt. However, this measure didn’t include allowing same-sex gay couples to receive children through surrogate moms.
The law was drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s center-right government, which had the support of left-wing parties.
“This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” stated Mitsotakis, in response to CNN.
The recent law makes Greece, which previously had legalized civil union partnerships for same-sex couples, the primary majority Orthodox Christian nation to have legalized gay marriage.
Mitsotakis stated that he was unwilling to presently cope with the query of surrogacy, saying that the notion of “women who’re became child-producing machines on demand … that will not be going to occur.”
According to the United States-based LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, 36 countries worldwide have legalized gay marriage, with 25 doing so through national laws.
Last 12 months, the Eastern European nation of Estonia passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, with the measure taking effect on New Year’s Day.
The move of the Corfu bishopric comes as church officials in Piraeus made an analogous move impacting local lawmakers who voted in favor of same-sex marriage.
