David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, led the Grand Opening of the Ideal Church of Scientology of Los Angeles on April 24, 2010, marking the conclusion of the full-scale redesign and construction of the Church as a home for the entire community.
“Today marks a milestone step in our planetary crusade to bring on our help on a truly global scale—so that one day there is no crime, no war, no insanity, a world in which Man is free to rise to greater heights,” Mr. Miscavige told the 6,000 gathered for the historic celebration.
Los Angeles, Mr. Miscavige explained, is “the city where the Church of Scientology was first incorporated in 1954. While even more than that, it’s the city with the largest concentration of Scientologists on Earth.”
Who Is David Miscavige?
David Miscavige is the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion. For three decades, Mr. Miscavige has protected, preserved and expanded Scientology worldwide.
In his position as Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center (RTC), Mr. Miscavige bears the ultimate responsibility for maintaining the accuracy and correct application of L. Ron Hubbard’s technologies of Dianetics and Scientology.
In that capacity, Mr. Miscavige has redefined the term religious leader to fit the tasks necessary to direct a truly unique, contemporary religion—a religion born in the 20th century, one which has achieved an unprecedented level of expansion in the 21st century, and today includes some 11,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups across 167 nations.
L. Ron Hubbard originally set a goal for Scientologists to one day create Churches that are the physical embodiment of Scientology Technology, helping all beings attain spiritual freedom.
To meet the ever-growing worldwide demand for Dianetics and Scientology services as well as Church-sponsored Social Betterment programs, David Miscavige personally committed to accomplish that goal of bringing all Scientology Churches to the standard of Ideal, just as he did with Los Angeles.
Scientology, David Miscavige and the City of Angels
David Miscavige presides over nine annual globally broadcast events that serve as briefings for Scientologists on the Church’s strategic programs. And each year, one of the most anticipated events is the New Year’s Celebration, where Mr. Miscavige addresses thousands of Angelenos at the Shrine Auditorium to recount the year’s extraordinary advances and the milestones marking worldwide expansion. Los Angeles is where Mr. Miscavige puts the final exclamation point on the prior 12 months and launches the world of Scientology into the new year.
Helping Los Angeles, Helping the World
Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard long held that spiritual freedom both contributes to and stems from a belief in the brotherhood of Man. From precisely this vantage point, David Miscavige has spearheaded global humanitarian programs including the Truth About Drugs, one of the world’s largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention campaigns; the Church-sponsored worldwide Human Rights education campaign, promoting the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and Scientology Volunteer Ministers, who provide disaster relief in every corner of the globe.
These celebrated global campaigns are nowhere more active than on the streets of Los Angeles. Here, for example, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have responded to every major disaster since 1989.
To fulfill the overwhelming demand for these humanitarian programs, Mr. Miscavige oversaw the establishment of the Scientology Dissemination and Distribution Center in LA County. It provides informational and educational materials for Church-sponsored humanitarian initiatives, all of which are made freely available in over a dozen languages.
Scientology Media Productions
Not five minutes from the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles is Scientology Media Productions, the historic five-acre motion picture and television studio dating back to Hollywood’s earliest days—meticulously restored, preserved and transformed into a fully integrated modern digital media production center under the guidance of David Miscavige. The facility broadly communicates the message of Scientology planetwide.
