Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage, adoption

Greece on Thursday became the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage, despite opposition from the influential, socially conservative Greek Church.

A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late Thursday in favor of the landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' center-right government. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present in the house.

Mitsotakis said on social media after the vote that Greece "is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality."