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The Cult Mechanicus has ancient origins, developing on [[Mars]] during the [[Age of Strife]]. It was the state religion of the early Mechanicum even before the arrival of the [[Emperor]] and the commencement of the [[Great Crusade]].{{Fn|5}}{{Fn|26}} When the Emperor first arrived on Mars many saw him as the [[Omnissiah]], or the physical manifestation of the [[Machine God]]. As per the terms of the [[Treaty of Olympus]] that saw [[Terra]] and Mars unify, the Mechanicum was still allowed to practice its faith despite the Emperor's own secular [[Imperial Truth]].{{Fn|6a}} The Cult Mechanicus continues to exist to this day, distinct but related to the [[Imperial Cult]].

The '''Machine God''', also known as the '''Deus Mechanicus''',{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|4a}} '''Deus Ex Mechanicus''' (God In The Machine),{{Fn|26}} '''He who is three-in-one''',{{Fn|15c}} '''the three in one''',{{Fn|16c}} '''the triple god''',{{Fn|16a}} '''the prime architect''',{{Fn|15a}} and '''God-Machine''',{{Fn|11}} is the ultimate object of worship in the Cult Mechanicus. It is the Machine God that gave rise to all technologies and made them manifest through his chosen among mankind. To the Mechanicus, machines represent a higher form of life than those crudely formed from biological evolution. The planned perfection of form and function embodied in a machine are so great, that they could only have arisen from a divine source. Officially, the Cult Mechanicus maintains that the [[Emperor]] is the physical manifestation of the Machine God (the '''[[Omnissiah]]''') and part of a trinity that also includes the Machine God and the '''[[Motive Force]]''', the deity that gives all life and motion its continued existence.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|4a}}