Court annuls Greece's first same-sex marriages

A Greek court annulled Greece's only two same-sex marriages, officials said Tuesday, following a furious backlash against the ceremonies from the government and religious leaders.

The two couples - one male, one female - exploited a loophole in a 26-year-old law that did not specify gender in civil weddings, and were married in June last year by the mayor of the small Aegean Sea island of Tilos.

The ceremonies drew the wrath of the powerful Orthodox Church of Greece, with one conservative bishop denouncing them as weddings of "humanoid couples."

The government immediately declared the marriages illegal and invalid and a prosecutor tabled a suit at the nearby island of Rhodes seeking to annul the marriages.

The Rhodes court issued its ruling late Monday doing that. It was expected to give its reasons later this month.