Sources: Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.26.2, 3.21.1; Origen, Against Celsus 5.61; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.27; Epiphanius, Panarion 30.

The Ebionites (“poor ones,” from Hebrew evyonim — possibly self-designation recalling the Jerusalem church’s “poor”) were a Jewish-Christian movement of the 2nd–4th centuries maintaining Torah observance while confessing Jesus as Messiah — but rejecting his pre-existence or divine nature. Their theology: (1) Adoptionist Christology — Jesus was a human chosen by God at baptism, not the pre-existent divine Logos; (2) Torah observance — circumcision, Sabbath, dietary laws mandatory; (3) Paul rejected — the Ebionites considered Paul an apostate who had corrupted the original Jewish Christianity of Jesus; (4) Poverty as ideal — some Ebionite groups practiced voluntary poverty as a religious discipline; (5) The Gospel according to the Hebrews — they used an Aramaic Gospel different from the canonical four. Epiphanius distinguishes between Ebionites proper and Nazoraeans, though modern scholars debate whether these were distinct groups or variants of the same movement. The Ebionites were condemned by orthodox Christianity for their low Christology and Torah observance, and by rabbinic Judaism for their messianic belief in Jesus. Their ultimate disappearance was probably due to the impossible position of being rejected by both the communities they bridged.