spiration

In my gift-ontology, spiration names the mode of the Spirit’s origin, often described as “breathing forth.” It is not a physical breath and not an event. It is a way of naming personal provenance in the Spirit. In the Latin idiom, “active spiration” can name the one spirating principle, and “passive spiration” can name the Spirit’s being proceeding, but such language must be handled carefully to avoid implying an impersonal mechanism. In this approach, spiration is personal origin-fromness, not a detachable structure that could be abstracted away from Father, Son, and Spirit. It is also not a third thing in God that binds Father and Son. The Spirit is a hypostasis, not a glue.