| APOSTLE | Messenger of the faith |
| DEFENDER | Of the Faith, a title held by Charles III as head of the Church of England (8) |
| FIDEI | The F of FD on British coins - Defender of the Faith |
| RELIGIOUSLEADERS | Keepers of the faith, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues |
| ISLAMIC | Of the faith of Muslims |
| AGNOSTIC | One who doubts the validity of the faith is acting so strangely (8) |
| AUTODAFE | Judicial sentence, or its execution, by the Spanish Inquisition; Portuguese, 'act of the faith' (4-2-2) |
| CATHOLIC | Elizabeth was, at first, tolerant of those of the faith (8) |
| FIDEIDEFENSOR | Protector of the faith, inspice nummos Britannicorum |
| APOSTATE | Forsaker of the faith (8) |
| KEEPERS | Custodians, ... of the faith |
| GODFATHER | ... animal tender almost taking Defender of the Faith for another (9) |
| DEFENSOR | Latin term for Defender of the Faith, abbreviated to F.D. on British coins (5,8) |
| JIHAD | One of the Ancillaries of the Faith |
| HORMONE | Word, from "impel, set in motion, stir up", for an endocrinological chemical "messenger" of the body, such as irisin, named after the Greek messenger goddess of the rainbow (7) |
| LEOX | Pope who bestowed the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry VIII |
| ARCHANGEL | A divine messenger of the highest order, or one ranking eighth in the celestial hierarchy; a name of a herb with aromatic hollow stems, often candied for cakes or puddings; a breed of fancy pigeon; or |
| IRIS | Goddess of the Rainbow, messenger of the gods |
| CATALYTICCONVERT | New member of the faith shaking things up? |
| APOSTATES | Forsakers of the faith |
