Elijah Ayer Courage steps up to the altar in Lomé, Togo, and the first thing the faithful see are his heels.
It is neither an oversight nor a passing joke. The pastor, founder of his own church, has been preaching this way since 2019, after claiming that he felt physical discomfort when wearing men’s shoes and received guidance from God during his prayers to change his footwear.
Since then, he has worn them not only during services: he wears them in his daily routine, as if they were part of his skin.
Some mock him, others defend him, and he repeats his only response: they should stop looking at his feet and start looking at his work.