The "Great Four" are four hymns widely popular in Anglican and other Protestant churches during the 19th century.[1]
In his Anglican Hymnology, published in 1885, the Rev. James King surveyed 52 hymnals from the member churches of the Anglican Communion around the world, and found that 51 of them included these hymns, the so-called Great Four:[2]
King also found the following six hymns in 49 of the 52 hymnals:
All of these hymns likewise appear in The Best Church Hymns, published by the Rev. Louis F. Benson in 1898. Benson's collection of 32 frequently published hymns from various churches was based upon a survey of 107 Protestant hymnals, including King's book, thus representing "the judgment of our common Protestantism."[7]