Regarding beards of clergy.
Well..... You really do learn something new every day.
I found sone writings from the early Church Fathers on this as well
“This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man. It is older than Eve. It is the token of the superior nature. . . . It is therefore unholy to descrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness.” - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 276)
“The nature of the beard contributes in an incredible degree to distinguish the maturity of bodies, or to distinguish the sex, or to contribute to the beauty of manliness and strength.” - Lactantius (vol. 7, p. 288)
“This sex of ours acknowledges to itself deceptive trickeries of form peculiarly its own–such as to cut the beard too sharply, to pluck it out here and there, to shave around the mouth.” - Tertullian (vol. 4, p. 22)
“Let the chin have the hair. . . . For an ample beard suffices it for men. . . . The hair on the chin is not to be disturbed.” - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 286)
Excellent find, STA. It reminds us of the mindset of the early Church, and it reveals to us how little Orthodoxy has changed. When you step into an Orthodox church (and I don't mean some OCA ones), you step into a timless bubble.