Almost certainly. Some, however, have taken exception to being associated with a variety of other folks for whom they do not care – for whatever reason.

One of the more compelling demonstrations of Christ’s divinity may be the often unnoticed fact that he was able to create a community of love with disciples and apostles who, in any other circumstance, probably couldn’t stand each other. Political zealots, commercial fisherman and tax collectors? There isn’t a “tent” anywhere that is big enough to bring that lot together – let alone transform them in a community of love. Yet He did. Likewise, if anything shows how uncoverted we are, this – too – may be it: our love is still so very, very small. That, and we are still so wrapped up in momentary partisan posturing that we do not defer to the clear (at least in terms of Tradition) political implications of being a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom, the City of God.

Most political discourse is concerned with differences of priority or method; these are usually prudential issues over which we may, in good conscience, disagree. Yet when present policy conflicts with or seeks to undermine behavior that is clearly demanded by our faith as essential to both faithful living and our theosis, we are called – as Archbishop Hilarion noted elsewhere – to stand against it. The Manhattan Declaration expresses well and clearly a few key, essential and unambiguous issues in which faithful living is being challenged in the public square in our time. It simply highlights the politically-challenged yet essential positions that we must take in order to adhere to God’s will.

While the current partisan positions may be identified with one group or another depending on the time and context, the way of life to which we are call remains the same – in this or any other century – since the path to life and to the divinization of the human heart remains always the same. Thus, whether we are challenged by the policies of Democrats or Republicans, Tories or Whigs, Romans or Persians, we are called at all times to live for the City of God, whose “politics” never change.