A Church of England vicar at the centre of a bitter dispute with parishioners gave a slide show presentation instead of a sermon on Christmas Day and used so much incense in services that some people felt sick, a tribunal in London heard on Wednesday.

When the Rev Tom Ambrose was asked by a bishop to “turn the other cheek” and draw a line under the problems in the parish, he instead delivered a “provocative” Palm Sunday sermon “to wind people up,” the tribunal was told. Dr Ambrose, 60, one of the Church’s most respected and senior parish clergymen, is not alleged to have broken Canon or secular law.He is facing five days of court-style proceedings in front of a panel of five because the parochial church council of St Mary and St Michael’s in Trumpington, Cambridge, objected when he tried to introduce lavatories into his 14th century church.

He also wanted to remove a few pews at the back so members of the congregation could chat over a cup of coffee at the end of services. Worshippers were upset at other innovations as well, such as when he used Power Point presentations for sermons and brought in the modern church liturgy, Common Worship, the tribunal heard. The panel is made up of a circuit judge, two clergy and two lay people. The tribunal has been convened by the Bishop of Ely under a rarely-used Church law, which can be invoked to remove a member of the cloth from his or her freehold in cases of pastoral breakdown.

Dr Ambrose risks losing his job, and lay office holders in the parish such as church wardens could also be suspended. The tribunal, in which the parochial church council is the “applicant” and Dr Ambrose is facing 97 separate allegations as the “respondent”, has been convened to resolve a dispute that has rumbled on for more than eight years. At one point, things became so heated that the mediation service ACAS, normally used to resolve industrial disputes, was called in. But Dr Ambrose - who has been accused of being a liar and bully and spitting at a parishioner - refused to co-operate.

The hearing, at St Mary le Bow Church in the City of London, was told that in March 2002, a meeting was called with the Bishop of Huntingdon who advised both parties to “rule a line under” the past issues and move forward. Caroline Aston, then PCC secretary, said: “At the time there were three groupings on the PCC. I was one of a large group who basically wanted our church back and we thought the disagreement between Dr Ambrose and various people was nothing to do with us. The Bishop was in the middle trying to bridge the gap and find a way forward.

"I was hoping we could all follow the Bishop’s advice. I still hoped after what had gone on before we would be able to find some kind of resolution. But subsequent events proved Dr Ambrose wasn’t going to have any of it.” Just one week after the meeting on Palm Sunday, Mrs Aston said, the Vicar “gave a provocative sermon. In my opinion his aim was to wind people up. The atmosphere got a lot worse in those few months."

Dr Ambrose is accused of sidelining the PCC, inundating his critics with vitriolic personal attacks by email and letters and plunging the parish into financial crisis while keeping the treasury committee in the dark. Dr Ambrose, who put his own side of the story at the end of this week, says parishioners who opposed his attempt at modernising were deliberately disruptive and refused to work with him. Justin Gau, representing the parochial church council, has told the hearing that Dr Ambrose was a “square peg in a round hole” who had conducted himself in a shameful manner, inundating members of the congregation with letters and emails when they opposed his views.

Mr Gau also accused Dr Ambrose, who joined the parish in 1999, of losing his temper if he did not get his own way. The hearing has also been told of disputes between Dr Ambrose and parishioners about the date of the harvest festival supper, and an allegation that he had five trees felled in the churchyard without consulting the council.

Janet Hendy, a former church warden and a signatory of the original letter of complaint about Dr Ambrose, said: “We also started having power point presentations and slide shows instead of sermons, and the older people in particular do not like this, and a lot of people are very unhappy about this. “We actually had this on Christmas morning 2006, but this is not what people expect on Christmas morning.” She said that the smell of incense was so strong that it made people feel sick, and they had to leave the church.

Mrs Hendy told the tribunal that she was unhappy that Dr Ambrose did not consult members of the church about other changes. She said she was particularly upset when she discovered five trees in the churchyard had been felled. “We had always been used to major decisions being brought before the PCC for consultation,” she said. Mrs Hendy was also angry when Dr Ambrose sent an email to her and other members of the PCC suggesting a harvest supper be held on a Saturday. Another worshipper, Edmund Brookes, secretary of the parochial church council who has worshipped at the church for 51 years, also said Dr Ambrose did not comfort him or his mother when his father died a year ago.

The 56-year-old deputy director general of the Chamber of Shipping told how he was still fuming over a letter Dr Ambrose wrote to his father seven years ago and said Dr Ambrose had never apologised about the content, only the tone.

Mr Brookes and Dr Ambrose also fell out when Mr Brookes distributed two or three copies of The Spectator, where strong views were expressed on Common Worship, the new authorise Church of England liturgy which had been introduced by Dr Ambrose in common with nearly every other Vicar in the land.

The tribunal heard that Mr Brookes refused to “exchange the peace” in church with Dr Ambrose and would kneel instead to avoid the physical contact. Mr Brookes said: “It was a way for me to try and pray and deal with the issues that are going on, which were as disturbing to me as they were to everyone.” Mr Brookes said he did not like any physical contact between him and Dr Ambrose, noting: “I did not want Dr Ambrose touching me, and I felt very strongly about it.“He tried to touch me, he tried to put his hands on me, and frankly I find that aggressive. On one occasion he came and tried to put his hands on my head, and on another occasion he tried and I shied away from him.”

The church’s former incumbent was also called to give evidence. Canon Nicholas Thistlewaite said: “Leaving the parish, my view was that it was a very straightforward, middle class, suburban, Anglican parish with a lot of support from lay people and the parish.” The hearing continues today.