A constant theme in Syriac literature is homesickness for Paradise, a desire to restore Paradise on earth, Christians pray facing east because Paradise was in the east. This longing was expressed in monastic terms in ancient times, but its implications today reach far beyond monastery walls. With earthly roots, this longing for Paradise involves concrete responses in the realms of politics, ecology and economics. It is a longing that springs from the Christ who lives in the margins.
— Robert Lentz, Christ in the Margins by Edwina Gateley, Robert Lentz