The Ascents of James (Greek: Anabathmoi Iacobou) is the title of a lost work briefly described in a heresiology known as the Panarion (30.16.6–9),[n 1] by Epiphanius of Salamis; it was used as a source for a polemic against a Jewish Christian sect known as the Ebionites.[1] The document advocated the abolition of the Jewish sacrifices, esteemed James, the brother of Jesus as the leader of the Jerusalem church, and denigrated Paul of Tarsus as a Gentile and an opponent of Jewish Law.[2]
A Jewish Christian source document thought to be embedded within the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions (1.27 or 1.33–71)[n 2] and conventionally referred to by modern scholars as the Ascents of James may be related to the otherwise lost work mentioned by Epiphanius.[n 3] Distinguishing features of the text include an advocacy for the observance of Mosaic Law and the elimination of the Jewish sacrifices.[3] Paul is portrayed as a "certain hostile person" who prevents James from converting the Jewish people to Christianity (1.70.1–8).[4] The text recounts the salvation history of Israel from Abraham to Jesus from a Jewish Christian perspective. Jesus is depicted as the anticipated prophet-like-Moses who was sent by God to complete the work of Moses by abolishing the sacrifices in order to redeem Israel.[5]
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