Seven years ago, Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, dedicated the Flag Building—the magnificent 377,000-square-foot Scientology cathedral.
More than 10,000 Scientologists gathered November 17 in Clearwater, Florida, the spiritual headquarters of the Scientology religion.
“You have arrived at a turning point,” Mr. Miscavige told those assembled for the occasion,
In 1968, while carrying out research aboard the Apollo, the Flagship of the Sea Organization, the religious order comprised of the Church’s most dedicated members, Mr. Hubbard invited Scientologists to come to the ship to take part in the advanced spiritual services he’d developed. As he continued his research aboard, Scientologists arrived for training and counseling available only on the Apollo under the supervision of Mr. Hubbard. This was accompanied by a period of unprecedented growth of the Church’s ministry and worldwide expansion.
By 1975, the demand for Flag service was such that a 340-foot ship could no longer accommodate it. And so Mr. Hubbard established the Church of Scientology spiritual headquarters and religious retreat in Clearwater, Florida—the “flagship” Church for the religion.
At that time, the Flag Land Base occupied two properties. Today it spans a complex of 56 buildings over a 20-mile grid, totaling more than 3 million square feet of space. And none more magnificent than the Flag Building, an architectural triumph connected by skywalk to the Fort Harrison, hub of the Flag religious retreat since 1975.
And so it was that on November 17, 2013, Mr. Miscavige announced to the more than 10,000 Scientologists and their guests attending its dedication that “the best on the planet now awaits you. For the doors to your Flag Building are open and I officially invite you to cross the threshold to a whole new world.”
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From its beginnings, the Church of Scientology has recognized that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. In a world where conflicts are often traceable to intolerance of others’ religious beliefs and practices, the Church has, for more than 50 years, made the preservation of religious liberty an overriding concern.
The Church publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
The Founder of the Scientology religion is L. Ron Hubbard and Mr. David Miscavige is the religion’s ecclesiastical leader. For more information, visit the Scientology website or Scientology Network.
