Dr. Paige Patterson was removed from his position as president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary by the school’s trustees after sexist remarks made at a conference in 2000 came to light in a video leaked online.
On Tuesday, The SBTS board of trustees engaged in a 13-hour emergency session to discuss the fate of the embattled minister, according to TheBlaze.
The board released a statement on Wednesday stating that Patterson would be removed from his current position and be replaced by the dean of Southwestern’s School of Theology Jeffrey Bingham, who will serve in the interim.
The decision came after video leaked on the internet of Patterson advising women to stay with abusive husbands, as well as making inappropriate comments about a 16-year-old girl. He would later apologize for these comments while affirming his beliefs on divorce.
More than 1,000 Southern Baptist women signed a letter to the SBTS board asking to remove him saying in part:
“We are shocked by the video that has surfaced showing Dr. Paige Patterson objectify a teenage girl and then suggest this as behavior that is biblical. We are further grieved by the dangerous and unwise counsel given by Dr. Patterson to women in abusive situations. His recent remarks of clarification do not repudiate his unwise counsel in the past; nor has he offered explanation or repentance for inappropriate comments regarding a teenage girl, the unbiblical teaching he offered on the biblical meaning of womanhood in that objectification, and the inappropriate nature of his own observations of her body.”
Patterson has been granted the title of president emeritus, allowing him to receive compensation and living accommodations at the campus until July 2018.