Ebionites


Ebionites

(ē`bēənīts', ĕb`ē–) [Aramaic,=poor], Jewish-Christian sect of rural ancient Palestine, of the first centuries after Jesus. There were two groups, according to Origen. The Judaic Ebionites held closely to Mosaic law and regarded Jesus as a miracle-working prophet and St. Paul as an apostate. Gnostic Ebionites believed Christ to be a spirit, invisible to men, giving him the title "Prophet of the Truth."

Bibliography

See H. J. Schoeps, Jewish Christianity (1969).

Ebionites

2nd- and 3rd-century Christian ascetic sect that retained a Jewish emphasis. [Christian Hist.: EB, III: 768]See: Apostasy