A priest is claiming the recently retired Bishop of New York was part of a conspiracy to fire her and award her job to a close personal friend of the bishop who was on the diocesan staff.

The Rev. Janet Broderick Kraft has filed a civil complaint in which she is seeking in excess of $5 million for breach of contract, wrongful discharge, wrongful denial of employment benefits, and defamation. The Rt. Rev. Richard F. Grein, the churchwardens and vestry of Grace Church, as well as the Rev. David Rider, its new rector, and the Rev. Anne Richards, its new vicar, are named as defendants.

Michael Rehill, chancellor for the Diocese of Newark and vice president of Province 2, represents Ms. Kraft. He is perhaps best known for his successful defense of the Rt. Rev. Walter Righter on heresy charges.

"This is a fairly obvious abuse of power," Mr. Rehill said. "I have spent much of my professional career involved with the Episcopal Church. I would not have filed this case without being absolutely sure of its merits."

In the complaint and jury trial demand filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ms. Kraft, who was hired at Grace Church in 1997 as senior associate priest with the title of vicar, alleges that members of the vestry made false allegations about her misuse of discretionary funds while she was away on sabbatical. The vestry ordered the Rev. John Andrew, priest-in-charge at the time, to sign termination papers while he was on vacation in Great Britain. Ms. Kraft was not given an opportunity to defend herself. When Fr. Andrew contacted Bishop Grein about the matter, he allegedly concurred with the vestry decision.

The vestry and Bishop Grein allegedly attempted to force Ms. Kraft to sign a termination agreement which waived her rights to sue and included an admission of guilt on her part. When she refused to sign, Bishop Grein allegedly threatened her with deposition. On June 20, the day Ms. Kraft vacated church-supplied housing, the new rector of Grace Church, Fr. Rider, circulated notice to the vestry of a special meeting to be held on June 26 to introduce the Rev. Anne Richards as a possible replacement for Ms. Kraft. This was four days before the effective date of Bishop Grein's retirement. With the concurrence of the vestry, Fr. Rider appointed Ms. Richards as the new senior associate priest three days later.

In addition to the civil lawsuit, Bishop Grein is also facing a charge of presentment which has been filed with the Presiding Bishop's office by eight lay members of the parish and three priests canonically resident in the Diocese of New York.

Neva Rae Fox, a spokesperson for the Diocese of New York, had no direct comment on the charges. She called the situation sad for all parties and said the diocese is conducting its own investigation into the allegations. Bishop Grein was not available for comment.