principle from principle

In my gift-ontology, “principle from principle” is a qualified way of speaking that can be applied to the Son in relation to the Spirit, under strict safeguards. It means the Son’s “principle” language is derivative from the Father’s monarchy, not parallel to it. The Son receives the one divine life from the Father, and thus any “principle” role attributed to the Son is not an independent source but an expression of what the Son is from the Father. This phrase is often used to preserve two truths: the Father remains the sole unoriginated arche, and yet the Son is not excluded from the Spirit’s procession in the Latin confession. In this approach, the phrase must never be allowed to suggest that the Son is a second arche or that the Father and Son are two causes.