Crossword Genius

Purge lists under the protection of the church (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cleanse

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'purge' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'lists under the protection of the church' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'lists' could be 'leans' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'leans' is found within the answer.
'church' could be 'ce' (abbreviation for Church of England) and 'ce' is found in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cleanse that I've seen before include "do some laundering?" , "Wash" , "Bathe" , "subject to purification" , "give absolution" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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