Like a priest or prior said (8)
I believe the answer is:
pastoral
'like a priest' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'prior said' is the wordplay.
'prior' becomes 'past' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'said' becomes 'oral' (both can mean spoken).
'past'+'oral'='PASTORAL'
'or' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pastoral that I've seen before include "Idyllic" , "Type of poem" , "Ministerial" , "Country style" , "of minister's duties" .)