OPHITES, in church history, Christian heretics, so called both from the veneration they had for the serpent that tempted Eve, and the worship they paid to a real serpent: they pretended that the serpent was Jesus Christ, and that he taught men the knowledge of good and evil. They distinguished between Jesus and Christ: Jesus, they said, was born of the Virgin, but Christ came down from heaven to be united with him; Jesus was crucified, but Christ had left him to return to heaven. They distinguished the God of the Jews, whom they termed Jaldabaoth, from the supreme God: to the former they ascribed the body, to the latter the soul of man. They had a live serpent, which they kept in a kind of cage; at certain times they opened the cage door, and called the serpent: the animal came out, and mounting upon the table, twined itself about some loaves of bread; this bread they broke and distributed it to the company, who all kissed the serpent: this they called their Eucharist.