Greek Church protests baptism for children of celebrity same-sex parents

Greece's Orthodox Church says it'll ship a letter of protest to the archbishop who heads the church within the US after he baptised the kids of Norwegian celeb clothier Peter Dundas and his companion, Evangelo Bousis.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided on the 9 July ceremony close to Athens whereas in Greece on a personal go to. Dundas and Bousis have a son and a daughter born by way of surrogacy.

Dundas, who has designed red-carpet and efficiency outfits for main artists together with Beyoncé, Ciara and Mary J Blige, agreed to have his kids baptised as Orthodox, the faith of his companion. Bousis is of Greek heritage.

In a press release revealed on its web site on Tuesday, the governing Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church stated it could ship letters of criticism to the US church chief in addition to to the non secular chief of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is predicated in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Greek Orthodox Church doesn't recognise same-sex unions. Greece permits same-sex couples to enter into authorized cohabitation agreements however doesn't enable same-sex marriages.

Archbishop Elpidophoros didn't instantly reply to the Greek church's objection. His official Twitter account featured an excerpt from a July 2 speech in New York through which he spoke out in regards to the want for faith to heal divisions in society.

“Each individual, irrespective of who they're, or what they've executed – for higher or for worse – is worthy of God’s love. And if they're worthy of God’s love, then they're worthy of our love, too,” Elpidophoros stated. “The Church won't ever reject anybody on the idea of their personhood.”

The Holy Synod criticism was made in response to a letter to the church management from Metropolitan Bishop Antonios of Glyfada. He granted permission for the baptism of Dundas and Bousis' kids however stated he didn't know the ceremony concerned a same-sex couple.

“His Eminence the Archbishop of America acted unilaterally, on his personal initiative and in an improper method, within the full data that these kids (of God) don't belong to our (spiritual) household,” Antonios wrote.