Greece becomes first Orthodox nation to legalise same sex civil marriage

Greece has become the first Orthodox Christian country to legalise same-sex civil marriage, despite opposition from the predominant religious body, the Greek Church. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late on Thursday in favour of a Bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s centre-Right government. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present in the house. Mr Mitsotakis tweeted after the vote that Greece “is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality”. “This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece – a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” he wrote. #greece #lgbt #lgbtrights Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free tri