4.

 The Cappadocian Fathers gave full meaning to what?

            The textbook states that the Cappadocian Fathers preserved a delicate balance between the threeness and oneness of God and that they gave a full meaning to the classic summary of Trinitarian doctrine, three Persons in one essence. Concerning this analysis, Hieromonk Patapios of Etna states that the textbook presents a typically Western assessment of St. Athanasius the Great and the Cappadocians, according to which the former emphasized the “unity of God” and the latter “God's threeness.” Fr. Patapios explains that:

Such a contrast is not inherently mistaken, as long as it is not pressed so far as to imply that St. Athanasius did not appreciate the “threeness” of God or that the Cappadocians did not make due allowance for His “oneness.” This difference of emphasis has more to do with the different heresies that both were combating, than it does with any lopsidedness in their respective theologies. One should be extremely cautious about posing contrasts of this kind, which all too easily contribute to the misconception that the Fathers were somehow at odds with each other, rather than members of a harmonious chorus [The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way Reviewed, pp. 5-6].