A sect of heretics, in the fourth century, who denied the divinity of our Lord. They derive their name from Photinius, their founder, who was bishop of Sermium, and a disciple of Marcellus. Photinius published in the year 343, his notions respecting the Deity, which were repugnant both to the orthodox and Arian systems. He asserted 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.