Photinus

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In Canto XI of the Inferno, at verse 9, Dante recalls Pope Anastasius II, specifying that he «trasse Fotin de la via dritta». The passage from Gratian's Decretum, modeled on the Liber Pontificalis, reported that Anastasius II had come into contact with the deacon Photinus of Thessalonica and with Acacius against the advice of the bishops and clergy, and for this reason had been struck by a sudden death («nutu divino percussus est»). The authorized note also clarifies the syntax of the verse, indicating that «lo qual» is the direct object while «Fotin» is the subject, and that the expression «de la via dritta» means «from orthodoxy». Dante places Anastasius among the heretics on the basis of this tradition, which historical criticism has shown to be spurious but which in his time was considered authentic. The note observes that recalling a pope in this context serves to show that heresy can strike even at the summit of the Church.