The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Georgian: საქართველოს სამოციქულო მართლმადიდებელი ავტოკეფალური ეკლესია, sakartvelos samocikulo martlmadidebeli avtok'epaluri ek'lesia) is one of the world's most ancient Christian Churches, and tradition traces its origins to the mission of Apostle Andrew in the 1st century. It is an autocephalous (self-headed) part of the Eastern Orthodox Church since 4th century A.D. Georgian Orthodoxy has been a state religion in parts of Georgia since the 4th century, and is the majority religion in that country.