The temple was built between 1671 and 1673 through the efforts of priest Ioannikiya on the site of an old wooden church that was dismantled in 1645. According to a decree from Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, 100,000 bricks left over from the construction of the stone towers of the earthen rampart in Yaroslavl were used for the building. The church was consecrated with three chapels: on the right side of the altar, in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, on the left, St. George the Victorious, and in the narthex, the nine martyrs of Cizicus. The Dmitrievskaya church is an example of a two-column temple of Yaroslavl architecture from the 17th century. Around 1700, a small narthex was added to the church. Initially, the church had a five-domed completion, but in the 1830s, the four side domes were dismantled. At that time, a small porch in the classicist style was added to the western side. The bell tower at the northwest corner of the church is designed as a squat tent on a massive square base. In 1686, the temple was painted, likely by the outstanding Yaroslavl icon painter Dmitry Grigoriev Plekhanov. The wall paintings suffered greatly after restoration in 1859 by the E.K. Diakonov artel. The themes of the painting, consisting of 186 narrative panels, are limited to scenes from the Gospel and the Akathist to the Mother of God. In the dome of the drum, the "All-Holding" is depicted, between the windows, eight prophets, and on the sails, the evangelists. On the western part of the sail, "The Savior on the Cloth," on the eastern arch under the dome, "The Old Testament Trinity." The vaults are decorated with ten compositions of feasts, such as "The Nativity of the Mother of God," "The Annunciation," "The Nativity of Christ," "The Meeting," "The Entry into Jerusalem," "The Resurrection," "The Theophany," and "The Transfiguration." The central western vault contains two compositions: "The Crucifixion" and "The Ascension." On the supporting arches, the 12 apostles are depicted, two in height. Above the capitals of the pillars in medallions, six apostles from the seventy. On the pillars in two rows, martyrs are depicted framed by painted arches. Among them, on the southern side of the right pillar, the prophet Elijah is unusually depicted sitting on a stone. The northern and southern walls are divided into six tiers. The four upper tiers are narrative, the fifth ornamental, and the sixth a cornice. The two lower tiers were painted in the 19th century with oil paint. In the lunette of the southern wall, there are compositions "The Praise of the Mother of God" and "The Wedding at Cana," in the lunette of the northern wall, "The Descent of the Holy Spirit" and "The Expulsion of the Slave from the Wedding Feast." In the second tier, there are 10 paintings illustrating the earthly life of Christ and parables. In the third and fourth tiers, the temple theme is embodied with 24 panels of solemn hymns of kontakions and ikoses from the Akathist to the Mother of God. This is the only Akathist cycle in Yaroslavl wall paintings of the 17th century. On the slopes of the windows, there are three medallions with half-figures of saints, martyrs, and venerables. In the keystone arches, emblems of Christ and angels. The western wall features a monumental composition of the Last Judgment with expressive figures of "Germans" condemned to "eternal torment." The painting of the altar is distinguished by the nobility of style and perfection of proportions. In the central altar conch, the composition "Rejoice in You," is one of the best in Yaroslavl frescoes. The decoration of the apse is done in two registers: in the upper, large figures of saints, in the lower, 10 medallions with martyrs. On the slopes of the altar window, the scene "The Annunciation," on the western wall of the altar, "The Fatherland." The design of the altar and deacon's area is similar. In the conch of the George chapel, the Mother of God is depicted as the Queen of Heaven, and in the conch of the Demetrius chapel, "The Praise of the Mother of God." In both apses, venerables are depicted, reminding of the universal role of the Russian Church. Among them are the founders of the largest Russian monasteries: Abraham of Rostov, Macarius of Zheltovodsk, Savva of Zvenigorod, Sergius and Nikon of Radonezh, and others. The life cycles of George and Demetrius are limited to four large compositions. In the scenes of torture and torment, the saints maintain calmness and harmony. On the altar barrier in the George chapel, the Old Testament Trinity is depicted, and in the Demetrius chapel, a Deesis composition with apostles. The scale of the figures, their modeling, the detailing of faces and ornaments, and the connection with architecture reveal the artist's mastery. In 1872, Leonid Sobinov, the future great singer, was baptized in the church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica. The church was closed in 1929, returned to the diocese in the early 2000s, and is currently undergoing restoration work.