The Epistles of Niketas Stethatos: The Data of the Georgian Version

Based on the known data of the Georgian version of Stethatos’s works and the new version of Epistle III, we can draw the following conclusions:
1. Niketas Stethatos created his trilogy and the epistles in the period between 1054 and 1080. He died between January 1080 and 1094.
2. At the very end of his life, Niketas became a hegumen of the Monastery of Stoudios, which is confirmed by the data of the Georgian version of his epistles, dated to the end of the eleventh century or the beginning of the twelfth century. The period, during which Niketas was a hegumen of the Stoudios had to have followed the period during which he wrote his trilogy and the epistles. Most probably it was a short period between January 1080 and his death.
3. The name of the addressee of Epistles V–IX was Basil. The name Gregory, found in the Greek version, is either his monastic name, or it is a result of some unexplained error. Based on the data that we can collect about the Sophist it is possible to raise a question whether Basil the Sophist could be identified with Basil protasekretis, one of the authors of epigrams to the Hymns of Symeon the New Theologian, edited by Niketas Stethatos.