Intense fire destroyed church (6)
I believe the answer is:
fierce
'intense' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'fire destroyed church' is the wordplay.
'destroyed' is an anagram indicator.
'church' becomes 'CE' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'fire' is an anagram of 'fier'.
'fier'+'ce'='FIERCE'
(Other definitions for fierce that I've seen before include "intensity" , "Ferocious, savage" , "Menacing" , "Savage - vehement" , "Violent in manner or action" .)