Athens, Greece - Greece's powerful Orthodox Church expressed its opposition Tuesday to the government's bid to make cohabitation the same as marriage, dismissing the state of unmarried couples as equivalent to prostitution. "The Church accepts and blesses the established wedding, according to Orthodox traditions, and considers any other type of similar relationship to be prostitution," the Church of Greece's Holy Synod said in a statement.
The new draft law is set to allow unmarried couple to make their relationship official and legally binding by signing a simple notarial contract. The contact would allow each partner the same rights as if the couple were married.
The Synod, the church's ruling body, said that the draft law constituted a "catastrophic bomb" being placed under the foundations of Greek society.
The Orthodox Church holds considerable power and influence in Greece where more than 90 per cent of the native-born population is baptised into it.