patristic testimonies reconsidered tradition while he was writingContra Celsumbecause later on he refers to
the Ebionites’ anti-Paulinism (Cels. .), which Hippolytus’Refutation
does not mention. If this Irenaean text was in its corrupted form, then it
suggested that some Ebionites accepted the virgin birth.
On the whole, Origen does not add very much substantially new and
historically reliable information to the religious profile of the Ebionites.
He refers to the Ebionites’ timing of Passover/Easter but he is not con-
cerned with characterizing the Ebionite practices on their own in this
connection. He only aims at labeling the Quartodeciman practice as
based on “poor,” Ebionite, literal interpretation of the law. His distinc-
tion between the two kinds of Ebionites is the most notable new feature
in the Ebionites’ profile but if the above considerations have been on the
right track, the distinction reveals more about Origen’s careful reading
of his sources and about the categories that he himself found distinctive,
than about the Ebionites themselves and the factions among them.
... Eusebius’Ebionites......................................
Eusebius was elected the bishop of Caesarea in . Eusebius admired
Origen and he had also carefully studied Origen’s writings which were
readily available to him in the library of Caesarea. He was also familiar
with Irenaeus’ heresiology (see, for instance,Hist. eccl. ..). All this
is reflected in his references to the Ebionites. HisEcclesiastical History
has one overall description of the Ebionites which repeats the basics of
Irenaean tradition in the framework of Origen’s distinction between two
kinds of Ebionites and is decorated with Origen’s derogatory interpreta-
tion of the name of the Ebionites as a reference to the Ebionites’ poor
intellect.
Eusebius also adds two interesting details to the profile of the Ebion-
ites.First,henotesinhisOnomasticonthat the Hebrews who believed
in Christ, the Ebionites, were living in the region of the village of Choba
he already enriched the description of the Ebionites by picking out some details from
Irenaeus’ description of Cerinthus’ and Carpocrates’ teaching (cf. Irenaeus,Haer. ..;
..). Because it was Hippolytus’ version that identified the Ebionites’ teaching with
that of Cerinthus and Carpocrates (μως), it is natural that Origen also checked with
what Hippolytus’Refutationhad to say about these teachers and described thesimilar
teaching of the Ebionites accordingly. Therefore, Origen’sCels. . shares expressions
with Hippolytus,Haer. ..:κ παρ νυ,γεγεννσαι,ς/μως,τς λιπς
νρ πυς/τ ςλιπ ςνρ πις.Thus,itisclearOrigenmadeuseatleastHippolytus’
Refutation.