Saint Pantelimon Monastary between Balaci and Siliștea-Gumești had a much more cruel fate than the other monastaries around Balaci. The military unit and the airport, founded here after WWII, erased any trace of the convent. There is a letter of an archbishop from Teleorman requesting the Historical Monuments Commision in 1921, the demolition of the Saint Nicholas church in the Siliștea-Gumești village and the construction of a new one on this deteriorated one’s place. Although the „old church” had less than 100 years, in its inventory we find „eight extremely valuable old icons”. It is possible that these icons came from the monastry between Balaci and Siliștea-Gumești, which had been closed not long before.
The around 30 pavilions of the military unit are occupied in the 60s by a childrens’ house (circa 1600). This house is moved out of here around the revolution. After 1990, remaining deserted, the pavilions end up almost in ruin. Doors, windows, installations disappear. In 1993, his holiness Galaction the Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman brings a few monks here and founds the Saint Pantelimon Monastary. The church is temporarily arranged in an old classroom and the monks set up their chapels in the deserted pavilions. The refectory finds its place in the projection room of the cinema in the old military unit. The number of monks is currently up to 20, the abbot being his holiness father Antonie Lita.
The chapel was set up in a classroom with a 500 people capacity. An altar screen was improvised in panels on which many icons were set, six of the bigger ones being covered in silver. The entrance in the chapel is done through the north side through a wooden door in two wings. The light is provided by 10 large double wooden windows, over which another 10 windows are added, set on the eastern wall.
The monastary impresseses with its history and also the misterious phenomena that happened under its roof. A few years ago the icons in the monastary began to cry tears of myrrh and blood. The traces are visible even today.
Next to the Saint Pantelimon Monastary there is also a former airport part of the military unit. Tourists have unlimited access on the track, as well as to the other monastaries placed in the same area, on the grounds of the former military base.
