A German protestant church minister has surprised many after reportedly performing a marriage ceremony for four men.
As first reported by local newspaper Berliner Zeitung on November 7, Lena Müller, a 33-year-old minister from Berlin, posted on Instagram that she had held her first “poly wedding” recently.
“Four young men said ‘yes’ to each other, celebrated love with us and placed themselves under G*d’s colourful blessing,” Müller wrote in the post. The picture showed the pink-haired minister and four unnamed men.
Müller added that the quartet had chosen the Bible verse Love never ends for themselves.
“I already realised they firmly believe in this during our talk before the ceremony when they spoke of the warmth, generosity, and openness in their polycule,” she continued.
A polycule is the term for a couple-like bond between more than two people in polyamorous relationships. Polyamorous describes the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at a time, with the informed consent of all involved.
The “poly wedding” reportedly took place over the summer at a “pop-up wedding festival” in front of a protestant church in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district – where people could get married without pre-registration.
“What an honour that these four ventured so trustingly into our old [church] walls and asked for our blessings. I am grateful for this profession,” the minister concluded.
The “poly wedding” has caused a storm of outrage in Germany – where polygamy is illegal.
Art. 1306 of the German Civil Code states: “A marriage may not be contracted if one of the persons wishing to marry is already married or in a civil partnership with a third person.”
The German State, though, has shown leniency in the past towards Muslim immigrants with two or more wives.
On November 7, Christian Stäblein, Bishop of Berlin of the Protestant Church, clarified that the “poly wedding” had not been an official church ceremony as it only wed people who had previously had an official civil marriage.
The Protestant Church of Berlin-Brandenburg wrote on Instagram that its members were “shocked by the hatred [Müller] is facing”. The organisation added that it stood firmly by the minister’s side.
Müller – who has since deleted her post about the “poly wedding” – describes herself as a “feminist and minister” on Instagram and lists “inclusion and intersectional feminism, queer friendliness and anti-racism” as her focal points.
Speaking to newspaper NOZ about the “poly wedding”, Müller said: “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?”
