Article on soldiers holding up church as a source of stability (6)
I believe the answer is:
anchor
'a source of stability' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'article on soldiers holding up church' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'an' (indefinite article).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'soldiers' becomes 'or' (Other Rank).
'holding up' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (some letters go underneath or hold up others).
'church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'or' after 'ch' is 'chor'.
'an' put next to 'chor' is 'ANCHOR'.
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for anchor that I've seen before include "It prevents a vessel from moving" , "It holds the ship in place" , "Stabilising factor" , "Ship's brake" , "I present" .)