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Thank you drxx & Malone ....i misunderstood that part of the preamble (again)!

45a Core teaching of Messiah, unceasing avenger (4)

My answer is an "avenger" and is the "teaching of Messiah" minus its middle or "core" 2 letters - but I don't see an instruction to remove them?

It's 'core' as a verb rather than a noun.

Ahhh! Thank you Nelson, much appreciated.

Wow... that was a seriously impressive feat of construction! Thanks eXternal... how the heck did you manage to so successfully employ so many devices in one grid? My mind is blown! It was hard work, but I really enjoyed it. I have a vague recollection that this theme was used in the Listener at some point in the last year or so... I recall searching, in vain, for a red highlighter.

I couldn't agree more Merenz.

To make so many different pieces fit together, the wife, the villain, real name and pseudonym, and all the time leaving real words.

This is a masterpiece.

I have two left to crack, tips please! They are 14a and 44a. I have all the crossers but can’t see them.
And parsing for 5a?
Meanwhile I’ll try to solve some more of the down ‘anagrams’, they are much tougher than the across ones!

Lumen

44. 'Cases' is the definition. Take a word for 'stint', period, your turn at doing something, replace the Positive with Hospital. (Then pluralise, of course).

Lumen

5 A. A usual abbreviation for 'see', a usual 'close' and a usual two-letter abbreviation for 'men'. The dictionary definition covers the 'slot-machine'.

Lumen

14 A, the definition is songbird. You need a usual 'king', a usual two-letter 'on' and a common 'shelter', with the last two parts being reversed, to the west.