Church authorities in Greece slap religious ban on local politicians who backed same-sex marriage

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Backlash from the Orthodox Church of Greece against a landmark law allowing same-sex civil marriage intensified Tuesday, with a regional bishopric imposing a religious ban on two local lawmakers who backed the reform.

Church authorities on the northwestern island of Corfu accused the two opposition lawmakers of committing “the deepest spiritual and moral error” in voting for the law, which was approved with cross-party support on Feb. 15.

Greece was the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex marriage. The socially conservative Church of Greece had strongly and volubly opposed the reform proposed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ' center-right government, preaching against it and pressuring lawmakers to reject it.

“For us, these two (local) lawmakers cannot consider themselves active members of the Church,” a statement from the bishopric of Corfu said Tuesday.

It added that they should be excluded from the key Christian rite of communion, abstain from any Church events and not be accorded formal honors by Church functionaries at official events or parish gatherings.

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