chapter two
refers to their Acts of the Apostles as being different from the canonical
one. Epiphanius also states that the Ebionites used “Clement’s so-called
Circuits of Peter”(Periodoi Petrou; Pan ..), “though they corrupt
the contents and leave a few genuine items,” as well as the “Ascents of
James”(Anabathmoi Iakobou; Pan. ..)whichis“fullofnonsense.”
Modern scholars connect these writings to sources that stand behind the
present Pseudo-ClementineRecognitionsandHomilies.^12 At some points,
Epiphanius obviously quotes theBook of Elchasaias well. (I will deal with
thePseudo-Clementinesand theBook of Elchasaiin more detail below).
Much of what Epiphanius reports about the Ebionites is consistent
with the accounts of his predecessors, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen and
Eusebius:^13
. Christ was the seed of man, Joseph (Pan. ..).
. The Ebionites adhere to the law, circumcision, the Sabbath and
other Jewish (and Samaritan) practices (Pan. .., ..–).
. The Ebionites use the Gospel of Matthew, calling it “according to
the Hebrews” (Pan. .., ..).
. The Ebionites are anti-Pauline (Pan. ..–).At the same time, the profile of Epiphanius’ Ebionites clearly differs from
those of the earlier reports due to all the new information Epiphanius
provides. He presents a number new details about the Ebionite beliefs
and practices that are not found in the earlier sources:
. Ebion, the alleged founder of the movement, was originally a Samar-
itan (Pan. ..,, ..).
. They are careful not to touch a heathen (Pan. ..).
. They had to purify themselves after having intercourse with a wom-
an (Pan. ..).
. They also practiced other lustrations several times a day, fully
clothed (Pan. .., .., ..).
. They forbade virginity and chastity even though they had earlier
boasted of virginity (Pan. ..; cf. below ).(^12) If compared with the earlier evidence about the Ebionites, there is nothing in the
contents of thePseudo-Clementinesthat would necessitate their classification as Ebionite
writings. Therefore, the reason why Epiphanius connected theAscents of Jamesand the
Circuits of Peterto the Ebionites must be that they were in use in communities that were
understood to be Ebionite in Epiphanius’ time.
(^13) Cf. Irenaeus,Haer. .., ..; Hippolytus,Haer. ..–, .; Origen,Cels.
.,Hom. Gen..,Hom. Jer. ..; Eusebius,Hist. eccl. ..–, ..