ECCLESIASTICAL
STRUCTURE
INDIVIDUAL
CHURCHES
AND THEIR
CONGREGATIONS
Flag Service Organization
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The Flag Service Organization in Clearwater, Florida, occupies more than 20 buildings. Shown here is the Fort Harrison, a religious retreat for parishioners who come from all over the world.
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rom the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, the highest Church organizations were located aboard ships which made up a flotilla at sea. The 350-foot vessel Apollo served as Mr. Hubbard’s home. Because of this, it was the most senior Church and also the “flag ship” of the flotilla. It was called “Flag” for short, and as such the term came to signify the highest level of Scientology.
Special advanced auditing and auditor training was only available aboard Flag in what was known as the Flag Service Organization. However, as more and more Scientologists wanted to receive these services, the lack of sufficient space required that the organization move to land, and in 1975, the organization moved to Clearwater, Florida, where it occupied the 11-story Fort Harrison Hotel.
In keeping with its origin aboard the Apollo, this church retained the name Flag Service Organization. Since moving to land, it has grown to the point where it now occupies more than 20 buildings, has more than 1,000 staff, and is the world’s largest Scientology church.
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