chapter two
(Onom. ed. Lagarde [], p. ,–). Unfortunately, the exact
location of this village remains open. It may have been a village near
Nazareth or located somewhere in Syria, perhaps to the north of Damas-
cus. Second, Eusebius notes that the Ebionites observed the Sabbath but
also celebrated the Lord’s Day. If this information is historically correct,
it would strengthen the picture of the Ebionites as people who wanted to
be both Jews and Christians at the same time.
As was noted in connection with Irenaeus’ Ebionites, it is likely that
the Ebionites practiced baptism. We also know that they had Eucharistic
meals, albeit not with wine but water. Although we cannot be sure if
Eusebius had much personal contact with the Ebionites, the information
about the Ebionites’ celebration of the Lord’s Day is unlikely to be based
on Eusebius’ own imagination. It is less certain, though, if we can add
this detail to the profile of Irenaeus’ Ebionites since it is also possible
that Eusebius’ note reflects the practice of some Jewish Christians that
did not necessarily share all the ideas of Irenaeus’ Ebionites. Eusebius
may refer here to the problem that is also addressed in theDidascalia
Apostolorum(DA) which exhorts the Jewish converts to stop observing
the Sabbath (DAXXVI/ed. Lagarde [], pp. –). John
Chrysostom was also faced with the same problem in hisDiscourses
against Judaizing Christians.^9 The intensity of these admonitions—and
other related exhortations—suggests that double attendance was an acute
problem which the writer(s) sought to overcome.
Whether Eusebius’ reference to those who kept both the Sabbath and
the Lord’s Day applies to a specific group of Ebionites or only to some
converts that did not stop attending synagogues on the Sabbath, it shows
in any case, that by Eusebius’ time there were people who tried to practice
both Judaism and Christianity. This presented a serious challenge to
representatives of the formative Catholic tradition. In the following, we
will take a closer look at some of the strategies that were developed in
order to tackle this problem.
... Epiphanius’Ebionites
Epiphanius was born in Palestine near modern Gaza around . He
probably had Christian parents, and was first educated in local monas-
teries. He later moved to Egypt to complete his education but came back
to Palestine in his twenties and founded a new monastery in Eleuthero-
(^9) For discussion and the collection of passages, see Skarsaune , –.