"Gay marriage abolishes the Gospel," says the archbishop of Cyprus

The Archbishop of Cyprus, George, agrees with the decision of the Church of Greece regarding the marriage and childbearing of same-sex couples, saying that homosexual marriage abrogates the Gospel.

The decision of the Church of Greece for same-sex couples could not have been different because then we would have abolished the Gospel, the Cypriot Archbishop said in Paphos.

Archbishop George said, "Since we cannot make laws, we will have the ability to speak the truth and preach to the world to avoid any deviation from God's law".

When asked if the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus will also discuss the issue, Archbishop George said, "If the same issue arises in our case, we will deal with it, but there is no other answer".

Greek Church Condemns Bill to Legalise Same-Sex Marriage

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously agreed at a meeting on Tuesday that it is “strongly opposed” to the Greek government’s promised bill on same-sex marriage and adoption.

“The initiators of the bill and those who agree with it are promoting the abolition of fatherhood and motherhood and their transformation into neutral parenthood, the disappearance of gender roles within the family and the placing of the sexual choices of homosexual adults above the interests of future children,” the Holy Synod said in a press release.

The conservative New Democracy government has promised to bring forward a bill allowing same-sex civil marriages, although it is still unclear when it will be tabled.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the Greek public broadcaster ERT that the bill will also give same-sex couples the right to adopt, but not to have children through surrogacy.

The Holy Synod described the bill as riddled with contradictions, which will encourage people to circumvent it by seeking surrogacy opportunities abroad.

It also expressed concern that the European Court of Human Rights will condemn Greece for discrimination against same-sex couples, forcing it to legalise surrogacy.

The Church of Greece restated that it only recognises Christian marriage and rejects civil marriages regardless of gender. It also said it is opposed to civil marriages between same-sex couples because it leads to same-sex parenthood through adoption or surrogacy.

“This legislation conflicts with both Christian anthropology and with society’s duty to ensure children’s well-being and proper upbringing, but also with the children’s right to have a paternal and maternal presence and care. For all those reasons, and with a sense of pastoral responsibility and love, our Holy Church is strongly opposed to the proposed bill,” added the Greek Orthodox Church.

When asked by journalists last week about the disputed new bill, Ieronymos II, the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, said that a referendum could be held because neither he nor Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis should decide.

But the government responded to the archbishop by stating that in Greece, rights issues are not resolved by referendums.

“The opinion of the Greek people is expressed in the national elections, where the parties come down with their programmes and are either approved or rejected,” said government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.

“A large majority approved ours. In our programme there was a LGBT rights agenda. And this specific bill is also a pre-election commitment,” he added.

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