Crossword Genius

Complete a new church statement (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

utterance

'statement' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'complete a new church' is the wordplay.
'complete' becomes 'utter' (both can mean total).
'new' becomes 'n' (abbreviation as in New Testament NT).
'church' becomes 'CE' (Church of England).
'utter'+'a'+'n'+'ce'='UTTERANCE'

(Other definitions for utterance that I've seen before include "one's said" , "sermon, say" , "Something said" , "Remark" , "Vocal expression" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent and The Telegraph.
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