The Standing Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church upheld a previous decision denouncing the extension of civil partnership agreements to same-sex couples as an “aberration” to the institution of family.

The announcement was made in response to a draft bill on same-sex partnerships that the government will table over the coming days.

In a previous statement, the Holy Synod had said that “aberrations extremely relevant for Greek society include civil marriage, the single-parent family, cohabitation and the so-called marriage of homosexuals”. The church deems that respect in the value of human beings comes from “the rejection of any substitute institution such as civil partnership, which attempts to relegate family life at the level of civil transactions and for whose change all you need is a simple change of mind of the parties involved.”