Except for the information given by the Liber Pontificalis little is
known about Pope St. Eutychian, and the accuracy of the "Liber
Pontificalis" entry on Pope Eutychian is rather suspect. There is even
confusion about the length of his reign between the "Liber Pontificalis,"
which says that Pope Eutychian ruled the Church eight years and eleven
months, and Eusebius, who gives him a reign of only ten months.
Pope Eutychian made a regulation allowing fruit--but only grapes and
beans--to be blessed on the altar.
He is said to have buried 324 martyrs with his own hands. He made the
regulation that martyrs should be buried in a dalmatic (a purple tunic) and
he wished that all burials of martyrs should be reported to him.
Pope St. Eutychian is called a martyr, but that he died a violent death is
considered unlikely. He was buried in the Cemetery of Calixtus. And at
least the fact that he was buried in this cemetery is certain, for his
tombstone has been discovered there. His feast is kept on December 8.
Excerpted from "Popes
Through the Ages" by Joseph Brusher, S.J.
