Converted Paul to obscure church and single sort of incense (9)
I believe the answer is:
patchouli
'single sort of incense' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.
'converted paul to obscure church' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'paul' could be 'i' (where the crossword setter is 'Paul') and 'i' is located in the answer.
'church' could be 'ch' (common abbreviation) and 'ch' is present in the answer.
'to' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'paul' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for patchouli that I've seen before include "scented shrub" , "essential oil" , "Perfume from the oil of an East Asian shrub - a lit pouch (anag)" , "Aromatic oil" , "scented oil" .)