Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex marriage, adoption

Greece has legalized same-sex civil marriage and same-sex adoption, becoming the first majority-Orthodox Christian country to do so.

Greece's parliament voted in a majority across party lines to legalize the bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of the center-right New Democracy party. It was a move decried by the conservative and influential Orthodox Christian church, which opposes same-sex marriage and adoption.

Of the 300-seat Parliament, 176 voted in favor of the bill, another 76 voted against, two abstained and 46 were not present for the vote.

After the vote, Mitsotakis posted on X 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.

Quick history of LGBTQ rights battles: When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US?

Bill gives same-sex couples parental rights

The bill gives full parental rights to married same-sex partners with children but prevents gay couples from using surrogate mothers to have children, an option currently available to women who cannot have children for health reasons.

It also does not include any provision for transgender people, a point of criticism for many LGBTQ+ advocates.

Greece is far from the first country in the European Union to legalize same-sex civil marriage, which has since been law in much of Western Europe. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the EU and in the world to open civil marriage for same-sex couples.

Contributing: Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greece legalizes same-sex marriage in key milestone