Chaste priest hit in church (8)
I believe the answer is:
celibate
'chaste' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'priest hit in church' is the wordplay.
'priest' becomes 'eli' (biblical figure).
'hit' becomes 'bat' (batting is a kind of hitting).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'church' becomes 'CE' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'eli'+'bat'='elibat'
'elibat' going within 'ce' is 'CELIBATE'.
(Other definitions for celibate that I've seen before include "Not the marrying kind" , "Refraining from sex" , "Abstaining from sexual relations" , "Unmarried (person)" , "Not married" .)