The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word THEOCRAT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
H
E
O
C
R
A
T
More clues leading to the result THEOCRAT
- Hector incensed at priest-in-charge
- Religious authority perhaps derived from Torah etc.
- Article by rotter about firm sent up revered leader
- Revered ruler ultimately made no specific offer that's binding
- High priest, maybe, that keeps rejoicers oddly suppressed
- The actor plays divine ruler
- Provide amendment to other act for minister in government?
- The actor playing a Roman emperor, for example
- The actor parodied Mullah Omar, among others
- Deified leader, Hector, thrashed a leader of Troy
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Religious authority perhaps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case religious authority perhaps = theocrat.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.