Lower status of church dignitary around Middle East (6)
I believe the answer is:
demean
'lower status' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'dignitary around middle east' is the wordplay.
'dignitary' becomes 'dean' (I have seen 'Cathedral dignitary ' mean 'dean' so perhaps 'dignitary' could also mean 'dean').
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'middle east' becomes 'me'.
'dean' going around 'me' is 'DEMEAN'.
'of church' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for demean that I've seen before include "Lower in dignity or respect" , "Reduce in worth" , "'Put down, degrade (6)'" , "Discredit" , "Degrade, humiliate" .)