The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word VICARAGE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
V
I
C
A
R
A
G
E
More clues leading to the result VICARAGE
- Evil claims a cleaner in church property
- Strive to protect vehicle - silver - in cleric's house
- Crack, Viagra, injecting cocaine and ecstasy at church residence …
- Bad habit, pinching a newspaper where clergyman lives
- Served up some vinegar? A civilised house!
- A fund-raiser in depravity where the reverend’s quite at home
- Liberal Viagra cafe displacing a fine church building
- Church leader tucked into mixture of Viagra and Ecstasy in his home
- Verger initially in charge, with a passion for the boss’s house?
- A piece of cloth in evil place? One of those places where the cloth may be found
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "church residence" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case church residence = vicarage.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 VICARAGE mean?
VICARAGE noun- The residence of a vicar.
- The benefice, duties or office of a vicar.