in ecclesiastical history, were a Photinian sect of heretics in the fourth century who denied the divinity of our Lord. They derive their name from Photinus their founder, who was bishop of Sirmium, and a disciple of Marcellus. Photinus published in the year 343 his notions respecting the Deity, which were repugnant both to the orthodox and Arian systems. He affirmed, that Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; that a certain divine emanation, which he called the Word, descended upon Him; and that because of the union of the divine word with his human nature, He was called the Son of God, and even God himself; and that the Holy Ghost was not a person, but merely a celestial virtue proceeding from the Deity. Both parties condemned the bishop in the councils of Antioch and Milan, held in the years 345 and 347. He was condemned also by the council at Sirmium in 351, and was afterwards degraded from the episcopal dignity, and at last died in exile in the year 372 or 375. His opinions were afterwards revived by Socinus.