Methodist ancestor maintains aloofness (8)
I believe the answer is:
distance
'aloofness' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'methodist ancestor maintains' is the wordplay.
'maintains' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (I've seen 'maintaining' mean this (the solution is held or maintained within the clue)).
'DISTANCE' is hidden within 'methodist ancestor'.
(Other definitions for distance that I've seen before include "Length between points - remoteness" , "Ascend it from one point to another" , "Full extent of fighting" , "to make big winning margin" , "Interval between two points" .)