Elder making best perry (9)
I believe the answer is:
presbyter
'elder' is the definition.
(presbyter is a kind of elder)
'making best perry' is the wordplay.
'making' is an anagram indicator.
'best'+'perry'='bestperry'
'bestperry' anagrammed gives 'PRESBYTER'.
(Other definitions for presbyter that I've seen before include "Church minister" , "See member of church" , "Kirk elder; Episcopalian minister ranking between bishop and deacon" , "Church elder" .)