Tea taken by simple clergyman (8)
I believe the answer is:
chaplain
'clergyman' is the definition.
(chaplain is a kind of clergyman)
'tea taken by simple' is the wordplay.
'tea' becomes 'cha' (cha is a type of tea).
'taken by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'simple' becomes 'plain' ('plain' can be a synonym of 'simple').
'cha'+'plain'='CHAPLAIN'
(Other definitions for chaplain that I've seen before include "Christian clergyman attached to an institution, military body etc" , "Armed services clergyman" , "Clergyman attached to an institution, such as the army" , "'Member of the clergy, in a hospital, say (8)'" , "Religious minister assigned to an organisation" .)