Hierarch members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, as promised last week, on Thursday conveyed a seven-page letter to all 300 deputies in Greece’s Parliament to express opposition to a draft bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the country.
Among others, the influential and powerful Church hierarchy, comprised of Metropolitans (bishops) of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece, stated that such a prospect would “abolish motherhood and fatherhood”.
The Holy Synod also charged that if enacted the bill would “nullify genders within the framework of the relationship between parents and children, transforming parents from father and mother to neutral gender adults, against the best interests of future children… they (children) would grow up without a father or mother in a confused environment regarding the roles of the two genders.”
The Orthodox Church, the predominate faith in the east Mediterranean country, also charged that bearing children cannot be transformed into a “anti-racist or policy of equality in favor of homosexual individuals”.
The center-right Mitsotakis government is poised to table the draft legislation this month in Parliament despite opposition from several of ruling New Democracy (ND) party’s more conversative deputies, including at least two Cabinet ministers, along with the Church and right-of-center parties. Additionally, the Communist Party (KKE) has, in somewhat of a surprise, expressed its stern opposition.
Nevertheless, the draft legislation is expected to be ratified with a comfortable majority, picking up ‘yea’ votes from other opposition MPs.
