Church officer attacked carrying cross (6)
I believe the answer is:
sexton
'church officer' is the definition.
(sexton is a kind of church officer)
'attacked carrying cross' is the wordplay.
'attacked' becomes 'seton' (I've seen this in other clues).
'carrying' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'cross' becomes 'x'.
'seton' going around 'x' is 'SEXTON'.
(Other definitions for sexton that I've seen before include "Church functionary" , "One looks after church and churchyard" , "Church officer who attends the clergy" , "They went and told the -, and / The - tolled the bell (Thomas Hood)" , "Person who looks after church and churchyard" .)