The Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg has defended Lena Müller, a pro-LGBT minister, after she shared a picture of the blessing on Instagram, saying: “We are appalled by the hate waged against her. We stand with them and condemn these attacks to the utmost. We stand with those who are experiencing hostility.”
The four men had attended a ‘pop-up’ wedding fair hosted by the church, where couples could receive a blessing without registering for a marriage in advance.
The now-deleted post read: “Four young men said ‘yes’ to each other, celebrated love with us and placed themselves under God’s colourful blessing.”
Lena Müller told NOZ: “You could see straight away that there was a lot of love between them.
“That’s why the team quickly agreed: What could God have against there now being four instead of two?”
The Protestant Church in Germany insisted that the incident had not been a legitimate church ceremony, as the four men were not married in the eyes of the law.
In Germany, bigamy is illegal – but some exceptions have been made for Muslim immigrants who already have multiple wives.