The Greece parliament has approved a bill allowing same-sex marriage in the country.
The bill which was passed on Thursday, received overwhelming support from lawmakers, with 176 votes for and 76 against in the 300-seat parliament, after a fiery debate that lasted two days.
In addition to approving same-sex marriage, the lawmakers also granted LGBTQ couples permission to adopt children.
It also hands same-sex couples the rights of a child’s legal guardian. Previously, such rights only applied to biological parents.
After his re-election last year, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece prime minister, pledged to pass the new legislation.
Mitsotakis, who has also been vocal about legalising same-sex unions, told his cabinet that it was a matter of equal rights and not a strange subject, citing similar legislations in other countries.
He said his administration would ensure that there are no “second-class citizens” or “children of a lesser God”.
Greece is one of Europe’s most socially conservative countries where the traditional family model holds sway.
The heavily influential orthodox church views homosexuality as an anomaly, hence, the new laws have met some resistance.
Many Christian conservatives held a protest rally in Athens, the Greek capital, displaying banners, holding crosses, reading prayers, and singing passages from the Bible in Syntagma Square.
A statement from the church said the measure would “corrupt the homeland’s social cohesion”.
However, the vote has been welcomed by LGBTQ organisations in Greece.
The BBC reports that fifteen of the European Union’s 27 members have already legalised same-sex marriage, which is now permitted in 35 countries worldwide.
Greece has until now been behind some of its European neighbours, largely because of opposition from the church.
It is now the first country in south-eastern Europe to have marriage equality.
The country had extended civil partnerships to same-sex couples in 2015, but stopped short of extending equal parental rights at the time.
The development also comes amid deep divisions within the Catholic Church, following Pope Francis’ approval of blessings for queer couples.
But in an interview last month, Francis said he was not bothered about the split in the church, saying “you have to let them go and pass… and look ahead”.
