GREEK lawmakers are expected to legalise same-sex marriage in a parliamentary vote on Thursday, with a rare display of cross-party collaboration.

Approval would make Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to take that step, clearing multiple legal hurdles for gay couples who already have children or want them.

Belia, a drama teacher, said: “I’ve been fighting for this ever since I figured out who I was and it’s a great relief to say we’ve finally made it. 

“But it is tiresome, very tiresome, to fight for something that’s an obvious right — to suffer for something that other people are just handed — and have to fight so hard to get it.”

Although civil partnerships were extended to gay couples in Greece nearly a decade ago, only the biological parents of children in those relationships are currently recognised as legal guardians.

The issue of children’s rights, including the publicised plight of cancer survivors in a same-sex relationship, helped nudge public opinion toward narrowly favouring the Bill that was sponsored by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s right-wing government.

But it also triggered a strong reaction from the country’s Orthodox Church. Representing Greece’s dominant faith, the church argues the marriage Bill would confuse parental roles and weaken the traditional family.

Several prominent bishops have taken a tough line, warning that they will refuse to baptise the children of gay couples. They allied with far-right political parties and traditionalist groups to stage public demonstrations.

Attending a rally in front of parliament last Sunday, protester Chara Giannakantonaki said: “Every minority already has its rights guaranteed. There is no issue. They don’t need same-sex marriage. They just want to desecrate whatever has remained sacred in Greece: Our church, our families and our children.

“But children are a red line and we will never accept this,” she added.