Greece faces growing opposition from the Orthodox Church over plans to legalize same-sex marriage

By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right government is speeding up its timetable to legalize same-sex marriage despite growing opposition from the powerful Orthodox Church. Government officials said Wednesday that draft legislation would be put to a vote by mid-February. Greece would become the first Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage if the law passes. The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul that heads Orthodox churches around the world expressed its opposition to the same-sex marriage proposal. It echoed an earlier decision by the church’s senior bishops in Greece.