Paschal
Paschal antipope of Rome, flourished in the 7th century. He was early admitted to the service of the Church, and was for some time archdeacon of the Romanish Church. During the sickness of pope Conon, in order to take possession, of the gold which this pontiff had bequeathed to the clergy and to the monasteries, he wrote to Jean Platys, exarch of Ravenna, and promised him this old if he would consent to sustain his election to the poitifical throne. The exarch entered into this design, and his officers, the next day after the death of Conon (Oct. 22, 687), elected Paschal. Another party of the Roman people elected the archpriest Theodore, and took possession of the interior of the palace of Lateran, while the faction of Paschal could only occupy the exterior. In order to put an end to this scandalous struggle, the majority of the clergy, magistrates, and people voted for a priest called Sergius (Dec. 16, 687). Theodore submitted; Paschal, on the contrary, resisted, and persuaded the exarch to come to Rome with his officers. The latter arrived, but finding Sergius recognized by all, he abandoned Paschal to this unhappy fate, requiring of the new pope, in order to confirm his nomination, the hundred pounds of gold which had been promised him. Shortly after Paschal, convicted of magic, was deprived of his office of archdeacon and imprisoned in a monastery where he died impenitent in 694. See Fleury, Hist. Eccl. bk. 40, ch. 39; Anastasius, Vitae Pontificum; Artaud. de Moutor, Hist. des souver. Pontifes Rom.Vol. 1.
