II and the situation grew to a crisis point. Death and legacy At the peak of the tension created by these attempts to improve relations between the East and the West, Anastasius II unexpectedly died. For those who opposed his attempts at remedying the schism his death in 498 was seen as divine retribution. The factions that had formed during his rule as pope split decisively from one another and each appointed a rival pope. The faction against conciliation was able to name Symmachus as the pope to follow Anastasius II. However, the important Roman Senator Rufius Postumius Festus, who had been a major instigator for the conciliation attempts of Anastasius II and may have led to his naming as pope, supported a rival papal claim of Laurentius. The Roman church then had its own schism between different factions which made efforts at reducing the schism between the church in Rome and the church in Constantinople impossible. During the medieval period, Anastasius II was often considered a traitor to the Catholic Church and an apostate. The writer of the Liber Pontificalis, supporting the opponents to Anastasius' efforts, argued that Anastasius II's death was divine retribution and that he had broken with the church. Similarly, the Decretum Gratiani writes of the pope that "Anastasius, reproved by God, was smitten by divine command." This medieval view is described by modern commentators as a "legend", a "misinterpretation", a "confused tradition", and "manifestly unjust." Dante placed Anastasius II in the sixth circle of hell: "Anastasio papa guardo, lo qual trasse Fotin de la via dritta" ("I guard Pope Anastasius, he whom Photinus drew from the straight path"). However, modern Dante scholars consider this to be a mistake: the person Dante intended to put at that level was the Byzantine emperor of the time, Anastasius I. Anastasius II is, with Pope Liberius, one of only two of the first 50 popes not to be canonized. However, Liberius is mentioned in the Greek Menology and is recognized as a saint within the Eastern Orthodox Church. References External links 498 deaths 5th-century archbishops Italian popes Ostrogothic Papacy Popes Year of birth unknown Burials at St. Peter's Basilica 5th-century popes