Cryptic crossword clue
Religious leaders maybe bless ushers on a regular basis 8

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

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

The straight part
We know that "Religious leaders" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case religious leaders = abbesses.
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 ABBESSES mean?

ABBESSES noun
  1. A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks.
  2. (British slang) A woman who runs a brothel; a woman employed by a prostitute to find clients.

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