A pastor in Germany has ignited controversy aafter blessing a polyamorous “marriage” between four men outside a city church, declaring it a “marriage in the eyes of God”
Holy matrimony just got a remix. A pastor, who has been branded “woke”, has gone viral after blessing one big, happy polyamorous quartet of four men tying the knot with each other.
The move has already sent traditionalists clutching their hymnals. Nevertheless, the church has defended its most unconventional ceremony yet.
Lena Müller, a 33-year-old youth pastor in Berlin, Germany, has reportedly presided over the polarising ceremony during a “pop-up wedding festival” outside the Holy Cross Church in the trendy neighbourhood of Berlin-Kreuzberg. As a pastor with the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO), Müller reportedly said the union as a “marriage in the eyes of God”.
The youth pastor, who calls herself a “feminist & pastor,” explained that the union was between two Latvians, a Thai citizen, and another man she believed to be Spanish, with the group communicating in English, the Sun reported. Müller told German regional newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung: “You could see right away that there was so much love between them.”
She further questioned: “Why should God have anything against there being four of them rather than two?” However, Müller admitted the ceremony wasn’t legally binding, but maintained: “I am at any rate convinced that they really did marry in the eyes of God.”
According to the Sun, she added in a now-deleted Instagram post: “What an honour, that these four asked for a blessing with so much trust.” Despite negative reactions on social media, Bishop Christian Stäblein came to Müller’s defense, clarifying that the ceremony was not a formal marriage and that “allegations of polygamy are baseless”.
Moreover, the church reportedly doubled down on its support, as it later expressed it was “appalled” by the “massive hostility” Müller received online and said it was considering legal action against those who abused her. Amid growing backlash online, Müller continued to standing by her beliefs, stating: “If people make their decisions on equal terms, autonomously and consensually, then I don’t consider it my job as a pastor to tell people what to do in their bedroom.”
While same-sex marriage is legal, qadrets are not legally recognised in Germany. Furthermore, German law is strictly monogamous, meaning both marriage and registered partnerships are legally defined as unions between two people only.
As a result, bigamy – being married to more than one person at the same time – is a criminal offence under German law. The legal situation in the UK is similar to that in Germany.
While same-sex marriage has been legal across England, Wales, and Scotland since 2014 (and in Northern Ireland since 2020), UK law remains strictly monogamous. Under the Marriage Act 1949 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, marriage is defined as a union between two people only, regardless of gender.
In addition, bigamy is also a criminal offence in the UK,, carrying a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison. While polyamorous relationships themselves are not illegal, only two-person marriages or civil partnerships are permitted under British law.
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