The Pahomie Hermitage, located in the town of Băile Olănești in Vâlcea County, is located 30 kilometers northwest of Râmnicu Vâlcea and 13 kilometers northwest of the town of Cheia, and is inhabited by a community of monks.
Initially, the hermitage's wooden church, dedicated to "Saint Prophet Elijah the Tesviteanul", was built between 1519-1520, at the initiative and expense of the monk Pahomie and the army captain Sava, who later became an outlaw.
An old inscription mentions that the monk Pahomie was actually the great ban Barbu Craiovescu.
In 1684, the scoundrel Constantin Brâncoveanu, who would become ruler of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714, restored the hermitage's church.
By around 1824, the church had reached an advanced state of decay, and in 1880, the monks left the hermitage; after a short period, the church collapsed and the cells fell into ruin.
Between 1952 and 1956, a new church was built from the wall, with a shape similar to the original, the works being supervised by Patriarch Iustinian Marina.
The interior mural painting, made by Stan Hermeanu in 1956, was restored in 1997 by Hierodeacon Popa Nicolae from Perișani, Vâlcea County, due to deterioration.
After the reconstruction was completed, the church was consecrated on September 30, 1956.
The church is located at the base of a large rock in the Buila mountain range, near a waterfall, a rock on which the face of Jesus Christ could be seen.
Next to the waterfall, a large metal cross was placed on a concrete pedestal, representing the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ in life-size.
The hermitage church has no spires, but consists of an altar, a nave and an open porch, supported by six masonry pillars.
There are two small windows in the nave, and the altar is lit by a single window.
Near the western part of the church is a multi-storey building that houses the cells, the kitchen, the refectory (dining room) and the abbot.
Sursa: romaniadategeografice.net
