An unholy dispute has erupted in Westchester, where a priest claims the choir director he fired is trying to ruin his rep.

Rev. William Doubleday has filed a $1 million libel lawsuit against Geoffrey Smith and two other longtime parishioners of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mount Kisco, after the trio emailed congregants about the priest’s “volatile and abusive temper,” divisive behavior and explosive anger, according to court papers. 

The conflict arose after Doubleday canned the choir man in 2017 for allegedly going over budget. The firing prompted Smith and parishioners Charles and Linda Hill, who tried to mediate the rift, to file their own lawsuit against Doubleday in 2018. 

Smith and the couple allege in their legal filing that St. Mark’s donations have sunk by at least $100,000 because Doubleday plays favorites among parishioners and has been verbally abusive to others.

Some locals now have an “evil opinion” of Doubleday because of the false accusations, the priest alleges in his own suit.