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Despite its location, the Cathedral never hosts federal business, nor do its leaders hold “ex officio” positions in the government of the United States. It is a private church.
Compare Mark 12:12; John 3:2
The episode described in these passages is pivotal for the history of western civilization, because it offers a basis for the separation of church and state. No such basis is clearly established in the Hebrew Bible, and it’s not evident in the origins of Islam either, where Muhammad functioned for the last ten years of his life (AD 622-632) as both prophet and statesman.
Of course, the West itself required a long time before really grasping the idea.
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