A leading Greek bishop has warned lawmakers that they risk incurring the wrath of God – and will be excommunicated – if they vote in favour of legalising same-sex partnerships.
In a letter lambasting homosexuality as "an insult to God and man", the Metropolitan of Piraeus, Seraphim, pleaded with the country's deputy prime minister, Evangelos Venizelos, not to condone gay unions.
"I beseech you from the heart not to proceed," he wrote.
"You will deny yourself the blessing of the most just Lord whose help and protection we daily need as much personally as nationally … during these critical times for our country."
Last week, the 57-year-old former monk, a prominent personality in Greece's powerful Orthodox church, threatened to excommunicate any MP who endorsed civil unions among gay couples following condemnation of Athens's failure to do so by the European court of human rights.
"For the church fathers, homosexuality is the most disgusting and unclean sin," he railed in a nine-page missive made public last week. "[Such relationships] are an insult against God and man … an unnatural aberration not even observed in animals." » | Helena Smith in Athens | | Wednesday, December 04, 2013
