Cryptic crossword clue
Church woman beginning to shine vessels there 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CHALICES

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "vessels there" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case vessels there = chalices.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does CHALICES mean?

CHALICES noun
  1. A large drinking cup, often having a stem and base and used especially for formal occasions and religious ceremonies.
  2. A kind of water-cooled pipe for smoking cannabis.

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