Crossword Genius

Give encouragement to holy person leaving diocese (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cheer

'give encouragement to' is the definition.
(cheer can mean to encourage or gladden)

'holy person leaving diocese' is the wordplay.
'holy person' becomes 'st' (short for saint).
'leaving' is a deletion indicator.
'diocese' becomes 'chester' (I've seen this before).
'chester' with 'st' taken out is 'CHEER'.

(Other definitions for cheer that I've seen before include "hurrah" , "Fare" , "Shout applause and support" , "Encouraging shout" , "Buck up" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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