Greek Orthodox Church expels pro-marriage lawmakers, but that isn’t stopping LGBTQ+ couples from celebrating

Author: Donald Padgett

The local Greek Orthodox Church on the island of Corfu announced it will deny communion and other religious ceremonies to two local lawmakers who voted in favor of the country’s new law enshrining marriage equality.Menelaos Myrillas/SOOC via AFP

Greek novelist Petros Hadjopoulos and lawyer Anastasios Samouilidis were the first same-sex couple to marry in Athens city hall on Thursday. Better known to fans by his pen name Auguste Corteau, Hadjopoulos said the ceremony was not just an expression of love between two men but as a beacon of hope for others.

“There is a symbolism to this,” Hadjopoulos told the Associated Press. “I understand that (marriage) doesn’t work for everyone, but for people who grew up in Greece in the 1980s and 90s, when guys like us lived a very lonely existence, even symbols have a great value.”

Also married in Athens were lesbians Danai Deligeorges and Alexia Beziki. Like Hadjopoulos, Deligeorges recalled a time when marriage equality seemed like an impossibility in Greece and that their efforts to gain recognition for their rights would go in vain.

“Now we’re able to confirm with a statement that: You know what? You weren’t doing all these things for nothing,” Deligeorges told Reuters before the ceremony. “So, love wins.”

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Donald Padgett