Deputies who voted for same-sex marriage were called upon to be excommunicated from the Orthodox Church: “Demonic decision”

The Greek Orthodox Church is calling for the excommunication of members of the Hellenic Parliament after voting for same-sex marriage. Outrage among Christian clergy is growing after the passage of a controversial law, and Corfu church authorities banned two MPs from participating in religious ceremonies

Outrage in the Greek Orthodox Church over the government’s “demonic” decision to legalize same-sex marriage has intensified, with clerics demanding punitive measures to be taken against members of parliament who supported the landmark law, The Guardian writes.

Clerics called for the expulsion of “immoral legislators” from the church, and church authorities in Corfu announced that two local lawmakers would be banned from participating in any religious rites.

Accusing MPs of committing a “deep spiritual and moral error” in supporting the bill on February 15, the island’s bishopric called on MPs to repent.

“For us, these two deputies cannot consider themselves active members of the church,” the statement said. “We urge them to repent of their inappropriate behavior.”

Failure to comply with this requirement, the bishopric added, will automatically result in legislators being excluded from the Christian rite of communion and other church events.

Greece became the world’s first Orthodox Christian country to pass a law allowing same-sex marriage when 175 MPs from across the political spectrum voted in favor of the reform last month, The Guardian recalls.

Backed by center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the law also extended recognition of parental rights to same-sex couples, although it did not allow them to have children through surrogacy.

But Mitsotakis faced harsh criticism from the Orthodox Church. Greece’s spiritual leader, Archbishop Hieronymos, considered a moderate in the church hierarchy who has called the bill “pure evil”, has proposed putting the vote to a national referendum in a country where marriage equality is supported by only a slim majority in opinion polls and is openly opposed by members of the ruling New Zealand party. democracy”.

Leading church figures argued that the law would lead to same-sex couples demanding different rights and the destruction of the Greek family and society, The Guardian notes.

Signaling that he is on a collision course with the government, the church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, has announced that the March 24 service marking Orthodox Sunday – one of the holiest days in the Eastern Orthodox calendar – will not be held as is customary. according to tradition, in the capital’s cathedral, but in a smaller church, where President Katerina Sakellaropoulou was not invited.

Jerome and other synod members also made it clear that they would decline the president’s invitation to a dinner that is usually attended by the country’s secular and spiritual leaders that same day.

One cleric admitted that the archbishop was “distressed” by the news that Sakellaropoulou attended a post-vote dinner with government officials at a restaurant owned by a member of the gay community.

An open letter to Bishop Ambrosios called for the excommunication of Mitsotakis and members of parliament who supported the law, saying: “Our Orthodox Church is under siege… A revolution should be declared against all who violate God’s law. The main culprit of this moral crime, the Prime Minister of Greece and the 175 members of the Greek Parliament, should be excommunicated.”

The fury of the clergy spilled into the public domain days after the first same-sex marriage took place in the Athens town hall.

On Tuesday, Hieronymos expressed his dissatisfaction with the law, telling reporters that he hoped neither of them would ever enter into “this kind of marriage.”