chapter two
see also Painter, –) which fits well with the Ebionites’
reported—and ridiculed—interest in Jerusalem “as if it were the
House of God” (Irenaeus, see above).The evidence is not conclusive but there are enough points of contact
to show that the Ebionites as they are described by Irenaeus may very
well have been an offshoot of the earliest Jerusalem community. Judaism
also seems to have been such integral part of their identity that in
their case the termChristian Jewsmight best characterize their religious
position.
Although the origin of Irenaeus’ information about the Ebionites
remains somewhat obscure, its significance for later authors can be eas-
ily demonstrated since practically all heresiologists from the second to
the fourth century were more or less influenced by the Irenaean tra-
dition. Hippolytus follows Irenaeus almost word for word and Tertul-
lian and Pseudo-Tertullian also drew on the same tradition.^3 Therefore,
their descriptions do not offer much new material for the present dis-
cussion, except the name of the founder of the heresy, Ebion, which
they all use. The situation is different with Origen and Eusebius who
lived in the East and who offer some new information about the Ebion-
ites.
... Origen’sEbionites
Origen was born (ca. ) and raised in a Christian family in Alexandria.^4
He lost his father when he was in his teens in the persecutions during the
reign of Septimus Severus (–). Nevertheless, he was able to com-
plete his studies with the support of a wealthy patroness and he became
a teacher of Greek literature. Origen soon became familiar with the vari-
ety of religious and philosophical traditions circulating in Alexandria.
The patroness supported a Gnostic whose teaching he followed and he
also studied under the Platonist Ammonius Saccas and probably with
Clement of Alexandria. During the second persecution of Severus, Ori-
gen gained fame for his courageous teaching while Demetrius, the bishop
of Alexandria and other church leaders fled or hid. Soon after that, Ori-
gen abandoned the study of pagan literature, probably underwent volun-
tary castration and devoted himself to Christian teaching.
(^3) See Häkkinen , –.
(^4) For an overview of Origen’s life, see Trigg .