Hatzis was born in Ioannina, in northwestern Greece, when the city was still part of the Janina Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.

[3] In the columns of Epirus he supported the rights of the Greek population of the region against the mismanagement and the defective administration of the Ottoman authorities of that time.

[2] During 1914-1915 he participated in the events that occurred in Northern Epirus by the local Greeks against annexation to newly established Albania and supported the activities of the provisional government.

[2] After the Balkan Wars and the subsequent incorporation of his home land to Greece, Hatzis supported the initiative for an organized literary club in Ioannina with its own library, in order to promote literature and arts in the city.

[5] Finally in 1924 the Educational Club (Εκπαιδευτικός Όμιλος) of Ioannina was founded and Hatzis together with other prominent figures of Epirus, such as Christos Christovasilis, became members of the administrative committee.