Crossword Genius

Record set by old church for long period (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

epoch

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

'record set by old church' is the wordplay.
'record' becomes 'ep'.
'set by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'ep'+'o'+'ch'='EPOCH'

'for' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for epoch that I've seen before include "Unit of geological time" , "remarkable time" , "Significant period" , "Division of a geological period" , "Distinctive period of time" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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