In the course of my preparing to attend an Orthodox Christian seminary, many of my friends are asking the most essential questions.  What most want to know, and they cut right to the chase, is whether or not I shall have to grow a beard in order to be an Orthodox priest.  No one, happily, asks about doctrinal matters (e.g. what do the Orthodox have to say about the filioque?) or about worship (why do you stand for the whole service?) or about spirituality (why do you fast during Lent?).  They want to know about the beard.  "Are you required to grow one?", it usually begins, "and what if
you can't grow one?".  The immediate serious answer is that a beard for an Orthodox priest is customary but not mandatory - and certainly not mandatory for those men challenged by whiskers.  And the reaction to the issue is easy to predict given the sex of the questioner. 

Read on HERE.

Nicodemus