The '''Church of Georgia''' is one of the oldest Christian Churches, tracing its origins in tradition to the [[missionary ]] efforts of the [[Apostle Andrew ]] in the first century. Historically, adoption of Christianity by the kingdom of Georgia (Iberia) is traced to the missionary efforts of St. [[Nino of Cappadocia ]] beginning in early fourth century. Initially, the Georgian [[church ]] was part of the territory of the [[Patriarchate of Antioch]]. The church was granted [[autocephaly ]] by the Patriarch of Antioch in 466. While seriously disrupted by the invasions of the various tartar tribes in the 13 and 15th centuries the autocephalous church survived until it was placed under the administration of the synodal [[Church of Russia ]] in 1811. After the abdication of Czar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II ]] following the 1917 February Revolution, the Georgian hierarchs [[hierarch]]s restored autocephaly that was eventually recognized by the [[Church of Constantinople ]] and the [[Church of Russia]].