On a worldwide basis, the Church of Scientology is structured in different churches, with various names according to their status and size.
At the lowest level are found groups and missions of Scientology and Dianetics. These are small communities of Scientologists, led by one or several ordained ministers who minister basic services of spiritual counseling, religious ceremonies and who come together to study the Scriptures of Scientology, but at the lowest level. They cannot ordain nor prepare ministers nor minister the religious auditing services of the OT (Operating Thetan) levels.
At the next level there are the churches of Scientology. These can prepare and ordain ministers and they minister auditing up to the level of Clear.
Above the latter are the advanced churches. These train the ministers of the highest level and minister pastoral counseling of some of the Operating Thetan levels.
The Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, in Clearwater, Florida, is the highest of all the advanced organizations. It trains people in the highest ministerial levels and Scientologists go there to ascend to high levels of OT.
A special case is the Church of Scientology based on the Freewinds, a ship operating in the Caribbean islands, which ministers a specific OT level which cannot be received in any other church.
This type of structure of religious services is common to practically all known religions, insofar as the different levels of preparation of the clergy are not accessible in all the centers, but only in the central institutions (Rome, Tibet, Tel Aviv, Mecca). It is where the missionaries, the monks or priests can receive the ordination of the highest level.
With regards to the religious community of Scientology, they form a real community of ministers and religionists, who live in community, with a total dedication to the purposes of the Church and with abandon of worldly interruptions and vanities.
The Sea Organization, so named after the original crew which manned the ships commanded by its founder in the early days, has 5 principal locations in the world which carry out various functions—although there exist groups of missionaries and members in many of the countries where Scientology is present. Those 5 headquarters are situated in East Grinstead (United Kingdom), Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Clearwater, Florida and Sydney. In those 5 headquarters, more than anywhere else, one can feel the real spirit of a community dedicated to its evangelizing and pastoral work. Although there is no obligation of celibacy for the ministers of Scientology, these communities resemble in their functioning and dedication those of many other religions, including the Catholic Church. Members of the Sea Organization do follow a very strict code of ethics which includes very ethical and monogamous sexual relationships, complete abstinence from any use of drugs and complete devotion of one’s life to achieving the goals of the religion.
Of course, the training of ministers of the highest levels, auditing to the highest level of Operating Thetan, ministry of the highest levels of organization and the responsibility for the level of ethics of Scientology at an international level rest only in the hands of members of the religious order called the Sea Organization, who are dedicated exclusively to this work.
