Banish bare-backed ecclesiast (8)
I believe the answer is:
relegate
'banish' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for relegate that I've seen before include "Send down" , "Assign to a lower position" , "Transfer to a lower division" , "Put in a lower division" , "Demote" .)