Vicars stoic, or vying for military decoration? (13)

I believe the answer is:

victoriacross

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'vicars stoic or vying' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'military decoration?' is the wordplay.
'military' becomes 'victoria' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'decoration?' becomes 'cross' (cross is a kind of decoration).
'victoria'+'cross'='VICTORIACROSS'

'for' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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