The Saint Demetrius Church (Biserica Sfântul Dumitru) is a historic Romanian Orthodox church in central Bârlad, with a religious presence on the site extending back well before the present 19th-century building. The church is dedicated to Saint Demetrius, while the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste were later added as a second dedication.
An earlier church was built here in 1692 and rebuilt in 1747, but the surviving building dates from 1830-1833. Its history remained turbulent even after that reconstruction. A major fire swept through Bârlad in 1850, destroying thousands of houses and also damaging the church, while earthquakes in 1864 and 1888 caused further problems. Extensive repairs and consolidation were eventually carried out between 1894 and 1896.
The church is distinguished by its tall western bell tower, which rises directly above the entrance and gives the otherwise restrained building much of its character. A clock is set into the square lower stage, above which an octagonal upper section is capped by a rounded metal roof and cross. Painted religious panels decorate the entrance façade below the tower, while the main body of the church is comparatively simple, with pale rendered walls and tall arched windows.
The second dedication to the Forty Martyrs was granted by Bishop Grigorie Leu, and the church now celebrates both Saint Demetrius and the Forty Martyrs as its patron saints.
