Church official's European articles (5)
I believe the answer is:
elder
'church official's' is the definition.
(as in church elders)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for elder that I've seen before include "Tree; of greater age" , "First-born" , "Ancestor" , "Earlier born" , "More senior in years" .)