Crossword Genius

Theologian embraced by explosive king, being cherished (4,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

held dear

'being cherished' is the definition.
('held dear' can be a synonym of 'cherished')

'theologian embraced by explosive king' is the wordplay.
'theologian' becomes 'dd' (Doctor of Divinity degree).
'embraced by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'explosive' becomes 'he' (abbreviation for high explosive).
'king' becomes 'lear' (I've seen this before).
'he'+'lear'='helear'
'dd' placed within 'helear' is 'HELD DEAR'.

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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