A Church of England priest from Worthing, in West Sussex has been charged over alleged offences of possessing 22,500 indecent images of children.
Rev David Renshaw appeared at Worthing Magistrates Court on 7th September and pleaded not guilty.
The 61-year-old is currently on court bail and the case is due for an initial hearing at Crown Court on 5th October.
A police spokesperson said: "All necessary safeguarding enquiries have been carried out and there is no risk to any identifiable children. None of the images are believed to be of local children.
"The charges, authorised by the CPS, follow an intelligence-led investigation by the Sussex Police Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT)."
Rev David Renshaw, who was part of the leadership team at Christ Church Worthing, has been on long term sick absence since the beginning of 2020, according to the church's website.
Sussex Police said it has had "full co-operation from the Diocese of Chichester throughout the investigation."