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5 Nov, 2019 12:09

Bless my sole: Russian Orthodox worshipers cry foul over cross on boots in latest shoe-related outrage

Bless my sole: Russian Orthodox worshipers cry foul over cross on boots in latest shoe-related outrage

The Russian Orthodox Church is apparently displeased with a boot design deemed sacrilegious due to a cross-like shape on the sole. The scandal is the latest in a seemingly endless list of shoe-related social upheavals.

A man in the Siberian city of Barnaul launched a crusade against the offending footwear after his wife spotted them at a department store. Manufactured in China, the artificial leather boots reportedly feature cross-shaped slide-stoppers on their soles. After confirming the supposedly blasphemous design with his own eyes, the unidentified Siberian contacted a local TV channel to raise awareness of the outrage. The station then reached out to a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, who explained the “unacceptable” nature of the footwear.

“We wear a cross on our bodies, but not on our shoes. It is forbidden to tread on it. And when a cross-shaped trace remains on the ground, it means that people walking on it later are treading on it as well. This is an unrighteous attitude to the shrine,” the priest said, according to media reports.

Also on rt.com ‘Blasphemous and offensive’: Muslim customers lambast Nike for ‘writing Allah’ on shoe’s sole

It’s unknown if the holy struggle has succeeded in pulling the blasphemous boots from the store’s shelves.

This isn’t the first time that shoe-related uproar has attracted media attention.

In June, Nike found itself in hot water after unveiling a new women’s shoe that was alleged to resemble an iron – a design choice that was purportedly part of a vast patriarchal conspiracy. That scandal was preceded by a different sole-related complaint.

In January, thousands of Muslim customers demanded that Nike recall their Air Max sneakers, claiming that the sportswear giant “insulted Islam” by spelling out the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic on the bottom of the shoe. In February, another shoe manufacturer, Adidas, was forced to withdraw its all-white sneakers that were released to honor Black History Month. The sneaker had been deemed racist by social media users.

Also on rt.com 'Racist to its sole': Adidas removes all-white cotton sneakers created for Black History Month

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