Across:
   8. Ponder a hard job for religious leader (6)
   9. Have Paul rewritten in major overhaul (8)
  10. Made "progress" primarily a dreaded vice, and embraced church (8)
  11. Anger about cricket team from the East's special medication (6)
  12. Some attack a Bulgarian city (5)
  14. Claim ripe to be torn apart based on evidence (9)
  16. Crazy faith nags an embattled country (11)
  19. Chained, worked as forced labour, often helping to build these large estates (9)
  20. Constructive material to help children learn? No, not permitted in 26 centre! (5)
  22. He often called cricket a healthy staple delivering brief high (6)
  23. One dirty leader ruined most of royalty's adulation (8)
  25. Major statue getting smashed involves radical leader being at least childish (8)
  26. Perhaps 8-following man of the cloth (mostly man) (6)
Down:
   1. see 7
   2. Leap out, guilty perhaps (4)
   3. Start promoting end of inferior pork cuts (5)
   4. Primarily traditionalists, sought after to support a crazy Islamic State? (15)
   5. Church gets spooky and holy man is most delighted (9)
   6. Enable striking gold in styling it "cafe au lait" (10)
   7,1. Sad about holy leadership, dumb at major loss? Nay, I'm a boy as raised and I'm angry and vocal about 17 wrecking these awesome figures! (7 7)
  13. Infidel unit, half beaten, welcomed first couple of 4 (10)
  15. Raged with under-educated group (9)
  17. Students in 16 attending uprising rejecting yesterday's leader in Gaddafi perhaps (7)
  18. Cutting tree with brand new device mightier than sword (7)
  21. Faith can be a bitch (5)
  24. Part of church takes part in uprising, but just a small part (4)