Crossword Genius

Ultimate characters seen in the magnificent Coptic church make an impression (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

etch

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

'make an impression' is the definition.
(to etch is to make an impression in something)

'ultimate characters seen in the magnificent coptic church' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'church' could be 'ch' (common abbreviation) and 'ch' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for etch that I've seen before include "Inscribe" , "Make incisions" , "Carve into surface, impress deeply" , "Cut using sharp instrument" , "Cut design onto metal using acid" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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