St Abba Dionysius, 14th Pope of Alexandria.
On March 8th, 264 A.D. Saint Abba Dionysius (die-own-knee-seeus), the fourteenth Pope of Alexandria, departed. His parents were star worshippers of the Sun (known as Sabians) and they put emphasis on teaching him all the knowledge of that sect.
One day an old Christian woman passed by him carrying some pages of a book containing an Epistle of St. Paul the apostle. She offered it to him to buy. When he read it he found in it strange sayings and an unusual knowledge. He asked her: "For how much will you sell it?" She said: "For one dinar of gold." He gave her three dinars and asked her to find the rest of the pages of that book, telling her he was willing to pay double for the rest. She returned later with more pages. Having read them through he found the book to be still incomplete, he asked her to search for the rest of the book. "I found these among my father's books.”She replied “If you want to acquire the complete book, go to the church and there you can find it."
He went and asked one of the priests to show him what is called the Epistles of Paul. He gave it to him, read it, and memorized it. Then he went to St. Demetrius the twelfth Pope, who taught and instructed him in the facts of the Christian faith then baptized him. He became well rehearsed in the doctrine and knowledge of the church, and Anba Demetrius appointed him a teacher for the people.
When Anba Demetrius departed and Anba Heraclas (Aeroklas) was enthroned, he appointed him as a deputy to judge among the believers and entrusted him to administer the affairs of the patriarch.
When St. Heraclas departed, all the people agreed to appoint Dionysius the Patriarch. He was enthroned on the first of Tubah(December 28th, 246 A.D.) during the reign of Emperor Philip who was a lover of the Christians. Abba Dionysius shepherded his flock with the best of care, nevertheless, he suffered much tribulations. When Decius rose up against Philip and killed him, and reigned in his place, he incited persecution against the Christians. Decius slew many of the patriarchs, bishops, and believers. This father endured much suffering during that time. Decius died and Gallus reigned after him, and persecution quieted down during his reign.
When Gallus died and Valerian reigned in his place, he renewed the persecution severely against the Christians, and his men seized Abba Dionysius and imprisoned him. They asked him to worship the idols but he refused saying: "We worship God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit the One God." They threatened him, killed men in front of him to terrify him but he was not afraid. They banished him and shortly after, they brought him back and told him: "We have been informed that you consecrate the offering secretly by yourself." He replied: "We do not forsake our prayers day or night" then he turned to the people present around him and told them: "Go and pray and if I am away from you in the body, I shall be with you in spirit." The governor became enraged and returned him to exile.
Sapor, King of Persia, overcame Emperor Valerian and seized him. His son Gallienus, who was wise and gentle, took over the empire. He released all the believers who were in prison and brought back those who were in exile. He wrote to the Patriarch and the bishops a letter to assure their safety in opening the churches.
During his time as Patriarch he defended the faith from many heresies, either by action of deeds or words of wisdom. He finished his good strife, and departed in a good old age having sat on the Apostolic Throne seventeen years, two month and ten days.

Lessons from this story
There are many lessons we can take away from this story. First off is the permanence of Truth. This saint was not schooled in Christianity, far from it. But when the words of the Lord found him, they found him wanting a taste of truth. And once tasted, nothing else...