Crossword Genius

Holy man turns to a king and emperor (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tsar

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

'holy man turns to a king' is the wordplay.
'holy man' becomes 'st' (abbreviation for saint).
'turns' says the letters should be written backwards.
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'king' becomes 'R' (abbreviation of Latin rex).
'st' back-to-front is 'ts'.
'ts'+'a'+'r'='TSAR'

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for tsar that I've seen before include "Person in charge" , "Alexander and Nicholas held this title in Russia" , "Rats to the Russian emperor" , "One associated with 26 [KREMLIN]" , "specific authority" .)

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