Sweden's Lutheran Church approved special church ceremonies to bless same-sex partnerships but not traditional weddings.
The issue has been debated since the secularized Scandinavian country recognized civil unions for homosexual couples in 1994.
The Swedish Church Assembly, the decision-making body for the Church of Sweden, voted 160-81 to approve a blessing ceremony for same-sex partnerships.
Sweden has a liberal attitude toward homosexuals, but gay marriage is not yet legal. Later this year a government-appointed committee is expected to file a report on whether the law allowing civil unions between homosexuals should be changed to include marriage as well.
More than 7 million of Sweden's 9 million inhabitants belong to the Church of Sweden, but few attend church regularly, the AP reports.
V.Y.
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The Ukrainian army is threatened with a new catastrophe and a repetition of the Azovstal situation. If in the nearest future the personnel of the military formations of the Kyiv regime do not leave Severodonetsk, then the group will be destroyed or captured. This opinion was expressed by correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny.