Ebionites

The Ebionites were a Jewish Christian movement in the early centuries of Christianity, associated with communities in Jerusalem and the surrounding Judean regions and later in other parts of the Roman world. The name Ebionite, used by opponents in patristic writings, is generally linked to the Hebrew word for “poor,” though it is uncertain how adherents self-identified.

Beliefs and practices associated with the Ebionites typically included strict observance of the Mosaic Law, including circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, and dietary laws. They accepted Jesus as the Messiah but regarded him as a human being, not divine, and taught an adoptionist Christology in which Jesus was uniquely chosen and endowed by God at his baptism. They rejected the pre-existence of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, and they were critical of the authority of Paul’s letters, arguing that Gentile believers should comply with Jewish law. Scriptural authority for them was centered on the Hebrew Scriptures, and some communities are described as using a form of Matthew’s gospel in Hebrew or Aramaic, sometimes associated with a Gospel of the Hebrews.

Relationship to other groups in early Christianity is a matter of scholarly reconstruction. The Ebionites are often linked with other Jewish-Christian groups sometimes labeled Nazarenes, and they are described by early church fathers such as Epiphanius, Irenaeus, and Justin Martyr as heretical or heterodox in contrast to the emerging orthodox faith. By late antiquity, with the consolidation of Nicene orthodoxy, Ebionite communities largely disappeared, though their existence highlights the diversity of early Christian thought regarding Jesus’ nature, his role, and the relationship to the Jewish law.