chapter two
(Pan. ..–). One passage also indicates that Jesus chose the twelve
apostles for the testimony of Israel (Pan. ..–).
The most significant information about the contents of the gospel,
however, is a statement by Jesus that is unparalleled in the synoptic
gospels: “I have come to abolish the sacrifices, and if you do not stop
sacrificing the wrath will not cease from you.” (Pan. ..). The idea
that Jesus, the True Prophet, came to abolish the sacrifices is central to
thePseudo-Clementines. In this respect, it is clear that theGospel of the
Ebionitesagreed with them.
Possibly Ebionite Information I: The Pseudo-Clementine Sources
It is generally assumed that Epiphanius had access to Pseudo-Clementine
sources underlying the presentHomilies,Recognitionsand the introduc-
tory letters attached to these. Scholars have been able to reconstruct
Pseudo-Clementine sources partially, but we cannot be sure about the
relation of these modern reconstructions to the sources that were avail-
able to Epiphanius (Circuits of PeterandAscents of James, see above).
Therefore, we can only compare the modern reconstructions with the
information Epiphanius probably derived from his own Pseudo-Clemen-
tine sources—keeping in mind that inconsistencies may either (a) indi-
cate that Epiphanius’ sources were not identical with the modern recon-
structions or (b) that Epiphanius’ Ebionites simply interpreted their own
Pseudo-Clementine sources freely. Nevertheless, the similarities we will
find between the modern reconstructions and Epiphanius’ evidence will
help us to refine the picture of Epiphanius’ Ebionites and make under-
standablewhyPseudo-ClementineliteraturewasinuseintheEbionite
community/communities.
In their present state, the Pseudo-ClementineHomiliesandRecogni-
tionsare two reeditions of an earlier source that is usually called theBasic
Writing. A general outline of theBasic Writingcan be deduced from par-
allel passages contained in theRecognitionsand theHomilies.Scholars
also largely agree that one section in theRecognitions,Rec. .–, is
based on an independent source, but there is no consensus about the pos-
sible original title of the text. Some think that this section of theRecog-
nitions(Rec. .–) may indeed have preserved theAscents of James,
which Epiphanius ascribes to the Ebionites inPan. ...^20 On the
other hand, it has been pointed out that the content ofRec. .– does
(^20) Van Voorst .