Pair protecting bishop with altar cross (9)
I believe the answer is:
irritable
'cross' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'pair protecting bishop with altar' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'bishop' could be 'rr' (abbreviation for Right Reverend) and 'rr' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for irritable that I've seen before include "Cantankerous" , "chippy" , "not very polite" , "Sensitive" , "cranky" .)