FLAG SERVICE ORGANIZATION

The Flag Service Organization ministers all religious services available at other churches of Scientology.

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The Flag Service Organization (FSO) is a religious retreat which serves as the spiritual headquarters for Scientologists from all over the world. It is the hub of the Scientology worldwide community, a dynamic, multilingual organization and is the largest single church of Scientology in the world. The FSO not only ministers the most advanced levels of training available anywhere, but all of the OT levels up to VII.

Click for larger photo Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida

From the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, the highest ecclesiastical organizations were located at sea aboard a flotilla of ships. The 350-foot vessel Apollo served as Mr. Hubbard’s home. Because of this, it was then the most senior Scientology church, known as the “flagship” of the flotilla and called “Flag” for short.

At that time, special advanced auditing and training services were ministered only aboard Flag. However, as more and more Scientologists wanted to participate in these services, the lack of sufficient space required a move to land. And, in 1975, the Flag Service Organization established itself in Clearwater, Florida, where it occupied the eleven-story Fort Harrison Hotel. Since then, Flag has continued to expand. Today it also occupies the Sandcastle Hotel which ministers advanced auditing, the Coachman Building which at any given time serves as a training center for thousands of Scientologists and several other supporting facilities. Due to Flag’s growing international congregation, new construction is always ongoing to provide still more facilities for its parishioners.

Click for larger photo Sandcastle in Clearwater, Florida

Today, nearly eight hundred staff minister to parishioners who travel from around the world to participate in auditing and training at the FSO. Because many stay for several weeks or even months at a time before returning home, the FSO also provides comfortable accommodations for its parishioners so they can progress up the Bridge free from the distractions and turbulence of the day-to-day world.

“Flag saved my life, really,” said a Scientologist who is a television and film producer. “Flag is really the place to be. It’s the best place in the world to get auditing. It’s precise, and there’s tremendous care in every action and service. It’s simply the most theta place in the world.”