Crossword Genius

Hand over the church keys (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cede

'hand over' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'church keys' is the wordplay.
'church' becomes 'CE' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'keys' becomes 'de' (I've seen this in other clues).
'ce'+'de'='CEDE'

'the' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for cede that I've seen before include "Allow" , "Give up (eg, power)" , "Give up (power to another)" , "Yield, give way" , "Yield or give up to another" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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