a word from the desert

One of the fathers said that there were two neighboring bishops who had an altercation with each other. One was rich and the other was more lowly. The rich one sought to do the other a mischief. The lowly bishop heard of this and, knowing what he was going to do said to his clergy: “We shall triumph, by the grace of Christ.” They said to him, “My lord, who could possibly prevail against that one?” He said to them, “Wait and you shall see.”
He bided his time and when his fellow bishop was celebrating a feast in honor of some holy martyrs, he gathered his clergy and said to them, “Follow me, and we shall triumph.” They said to themselves, “What can he be going to do?” He came to the other bishop, and when he came near in the liturgical procession, the lowly bishop fell at his feet together with the clergy, saying, “For give us; we are your lordship’s humble servants.” The other bishop was amazed at what he had done and a stab of remorse went through his soul. God gave him a change of heart, and he now grasped his colleague’s feet, saying, “It is you who are my lord and father.” From that time on, there was a strong bond of love between them.
The lowly bishop said to his said to his clergy, “Did I not tell you that we should triumph, by the grace of God? When there is any ill feeling between you, do you likewise – and triumph.” The elder also said that a humble man has more glory than the emperor himself; for the emperor is only praised in his presence, whereas a humble man is praised and said to be blessed both in and out of his presence.

John Moschos, Leimonarion (The Spiritual Meadow) 210