Revd Nathan Ntege, 55, is accused of marrying almost 500 bogus couples at St Jude's with St Aidan's Church in south London.
The jury at Inner London Crown Court was told he was the "lynchpin" of a group which facilitated a "matrimonial conveyor belt".
The court heard from prosecutor Edward Lucas who said: "The weddings that form the subject of this case were neither conducted correctly or legally and their sole purpose was to facilitate an industrial-scale abuse of the system of immigration control within the UK."
He claimed the weddings involved mostly Bulgarian women marrying non EU men to allow them to stay in the UK.
He added: "Those involved in the weddings must have known that these were sham marriages and that the only purpose behind them was that so one of the parties to the wedding would be allowed to stay in the UK on the back of the marriage."
It was claimed people wishing to go through bogus marriages were introduced to the church because of its "no-questions-asked policy".
The vicar was detained in 2011 after immigration officers became suspicious because the number of weddings had increased by six a year to six a day.
Reporters inside court say Revd Ntege smiled at jurors as he was introduced.
It's also alleged the vicar profited from the weddings because he did not transfer the fees to the Church of England - a cash sum of around £69,000.
The court heard he sent about £55,000 to his home country of Uganda in the same period.
Mr Lucas said several brides shared the same wedding dress and some queued up at the back of the church waiting to get married.
Speaking about one bride, he told the jury: "It is possible to see the back of her bra in the photos where it is apparent that she couldn't do the dress up at the back because it was too small for her."
It's claimed three wedding dresses were found at Revd Ntege's home.
Mr Lucas said a regular churchgoer heard Ntege tell one couple: "Make sure you take the photos properly in case of any comeback."
Another six people were also in the dock for the trial including Brian Miller, 81, and Maudlyn Riviere, 67, who acted as the church verger and secretary respectively.
Galina Petkova, 51, and Georgia Forteath, 34, were both married at the church themselves and acted as "fixers" for other weddings, it's claimed.
Innocent Odoh, 34, faces a charge of commissioning a breach of immigration law and another of deception.
Angela Palachie, 54, denies one count of commissioning a breach of immigration law and another of deception.
The defendants deny all of the charges.
The trial continues.